Monsters & Gods II
by RowanJade
Summary: The continuation of Ash's story. You should read part 1 first! Link in my profile. Gifts for all folks who review!
1. Chapter 1

Hi again my faithful readers! Glad to see all your friendly faces, even the fang filled ones. So after several months of trying to figure out what the heck happened next in Ash's story, I finally got some inspiration. Okay, yeah it's not great, but it'll serve to pass time until Sherri finishes up on Ash's real book.

I've taken some liberties in this and tweaked a bit of cannon so you'll recognize some of these events if you've read the series up through Upon A Midnight Clear. If you haven't read them all…what are you doing here? Anyway, on with the show….

**Title: **Monsters & Gods II

**Rating: **Still M for cussing and violence. Not a lot of sex in this one, guess my smutty bunny left town.

**Genre: **Still covering the spectrum in this one. I tried for a bit of drama and ended up with comedy so I hope it's not a disaster.

**Spoilers: ** If you've read Devil May Cry and have dealt with _that _major revelation you won't be spoiled. If you haven't read that yet, you're gonna be spoiled! Take a trip to the library or bookstore now if you want to avoid me opening the bag and allowing the kitty to escape. Go ahead, I'll wait here.

**General Disclaimer: **(Same as the last one) I do not own the Dark Hunters, Acheron Parthenopaeus (who really _can_ own a god?), or any of the characters and places in this story. I'm just playing with them for a bit, I'll give them back when I'm done. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and while I will never in this lifetime be as good of a writer as Sherrilyn Kenyon is, I'd certainly like to be. I mean no harm from this work Ms. Kenyon and if I offend I shall remove this.

**Author's Note: **Thanks to everyone that enjoyed the last one. All of your lovely comments made me blush and all that sappy stuff I swore I'd never do. They also inspired me to go back to visit with Ash & Phaedryn and see what happened after the first part of their story. So this is all your fault! Okay, no it's not. It's all me. Anyway, I'm not completely satisfied with the way this one came out. You may find some parts that drag a bit and others that don't quite make as much sense as I'd like. I've re-read & re-worked this thing three times now and I'm sick of it so I'm passing it off to you now. But if the inspiration strikes I'll fix it as I post.

OoOoOoOoOo

Since time began, a battle has been fought. It's rather simple and often written about; however, very few people actually know the truth about it. You know the players on both sides, call them what you will, good and evil, light and dark, whatever, it matters little what names they go by, just that they are what they are. Each one struggling to gain an advantage over the other, to tip the scales in their side's favor. Each side knows the stakes in the struggle, the final decision in the fate of the universe. And each side has a lot to lose if the other side wins.

However, the lines are not always drawn plainly and sometimes what could be perceived as a tactic of the side of good is in fact a play by the forces of darkness. The same goes in reverse. It's not always easy to tell which side is which unless you've been following the conflict since the beginning. Since only a select few powers are that old, it's blurry at best and confusing to most. The being that was at your side for centuries could suddenly turn on you and become your greatest enemy. The penultimate warrior on the side of good may be the worst murderer in the history of humanity while the most holy man may be the star player for the side of darkness. Their proclivities don't always show their true nature.

Schisms appear in the armies and pawns are removed from the playing field one by one. Over the millennia the battle has come to a point where it is virtually a stalemate, neither side having any advantage over the other and each side equally tired of the war. The numbers of the armies are equivalent and diminishing and the tactics are well known by both sides. Tricks are pulled, battles are fought and time moves on.

Champions are selected, campaigns are carried out and no one in the mortal world is the wiser. If the mortals knew what was at stake they would regress back to the primordial sludge they came from. So the knowledge is kept from them and they live their brief lives thinking the warriors of good and evil are nothing more than a fairy tale. A few stumble across the truth but they seldom see the light of day after finding out the things that go bump in the night are, in fact, real.

Sometimes however, they have something to offer to one side or the other and they are allowed not only to live, but to remain sane as well. So long as they never speak of what they know outside of the armies they fight for. These people are special to the powers that control the fight and they are highly prized because they remind the armies what it is they are fighting for. In days long past these people were thought to be possessed by demons or touched by a god in the ways that mortals have of explaining away that which they cannot comprehend. Closer to modern times they became recluses, shunned from society and hiding their gifts.

They are around us everyday and we can see them if we look hard enough. But who ever looks that closely for what we don't believe exists?

OoOoOoOo

Deep in the bowels of the nether region of what the ancient Atlanteans knew as Kalosis and what more modern religions know as Hell, something writhed in the shadows and stirred. It had been many thousands of years since the creature last saw the upper planes. Long had it languished here, forgotten by time and memory. But something had woken it from its evil slumber. The pieces of the universe had realigned just right and now it woke slowly, lifting its head and sensing the purpose it had been created for so long ago.

OoOoOoOo

"Ow! Son of a…" She hissed in pain and shifted the baby away from her breast. "I think she's teething."

"Really? What gives you that idea?"

"Oh, well it could be the bleeding puncture holes in my chest," she said as she handed the baby to its father.

He tossed the gurgling infant into the air eliciting giggles and coos. "Or it could just be the tiny fangs," he said as he cradled his daughter in his arms and examined her mouth.

"Fangs huh? Wasn't expecting that just yet." She walked over to her husband's side and leaned over their daughter. Now she could see the tiny fangs starting to protrude from the little girls gums. "Wonder when the horns will show up?"

"I don't know. I'm new at this too. Maybe because you were human when you conceived her they won't ever show up? You know you don't look a thing like you did before. She looks pretty human. Well, except for the fangs and the occasional flash of purple skin when she's upset."

"And what is that supposed to mean? You don't like the way I look now?" She said as she glared at him and picked the baby up from his arms and snuggled the little girl to her chest.

He sighed softly and walked over behind his wife wrapping her in his arms and burying his face in her neck kissing her tenderly. "You know better than that Sati. You are the most beautiful woman in the universe to me and no one will ever be better looking than you are."

"Ri-ight. You're just saying that cause I can zap you off to nowhere now aren't you?"

He spun her around and looked deeply into her emerald green eyes and he put all of the emotion he felt for her into his gaze, "You…are hormonally imbalanced and a nut ball." He grinned and ducked from the hand she swatted at him. "I'm kidding!" He slid his arms around her waist and cuddled his body around both his wife and his daughter, "You know how much I love you and nothing you say or do will ever change that."


	2. Chapter 2

Nick Gautier woke from the dream in a cold sweat and he nearly cried from the pain of reality returning to him. In the dreams it was all right, she was still alive and nothing was wrong with the world. Reality was much worse. Cherise was dead, Ash hated him and none of his friends would talk to him anymore. He was so deep into his depression that he was seriously considering killing himself but that would dishonor his mother, so he would never do it. No, instead he would remain in his solitude, angry at the world and slipping deeper into despair everyday.

He rolled out of the bed and scrubbed his face with his hands. He needed to get himself out of this hole he was in. Maybe today would be the day that he could finally break the ice with one of his old friends again. Maybe. Sighing loudly he rose from the bed and reached for some clothes.

OoOoOo

The crowded sidewalk outside the Café Du Monde moved and flowed like an ocean as Phaedryn sipped her latte and waited. She had agreed to meet the other woman here against her better judgment but at least it was public place and she probably wouldn't come to any harm here. When Zebulon had called her and told her to be at this meeting she'd hesitated at first but realized that she was in the right so it couldn't hurt. She hadn't bothered to call him on the accusations or to bring Savitar in on the matter because she was still trying to keep her relationship with him to herself. The less people that knew who and what she actually was, the better off everyone would be.

The weather was beautiful, cool and crisp, more like a New England fall than one in New Orleans, and Phaedryn smiled. She'd been away from the city for a while, her personal life taking precedence over any life that included the people of this city but she now had some time to relax and catch up with friends. Maybe she would call Amanda when this meeting was done and they could spend some time together. It had been far too long since she'd seen the Hunters and she missed them terribly.

She spotted the blonde woman a block away. She knew who the woman she was meeting was but she'd never seen her in person. Katra was tall, very tall, and very blonde. Striking and beautiful she worked her way through the crowded street turning several heads, male and female, as she moved. She strode like a predator, a trait that Phaedryn was all too familiar with in both her husband and her brother, Katra's confidence pushing a hole in the crowd as she walked. Apparently, all of the Cthonians and their agents had that same stride. Of course she should know that better than anyone even though it had been a very long time since she'd last seen one of them. Phaedryn knew the woman on sight. In fact, her jaw nearly hit the table when the woman came close enough to identify and she quickly had to compose herself. An icy dagger plunged into her stomach and she wracked her brain for some indication that this could be just a horrible coincidence.

"Phaedryn?" Kat asked as she walked up to the table. When the other woman nodded and gestured for her to sit she smiled and seated herself across the table. "Thank you for meeting me here. It's been a long time since I've been in the city."

"Me too," she said with half a smile as she studied the other woman's features. Katra motioned for the waitress that was hovering at the edge of the patio to come over and she ordered a coffee and a muffin. Once the young girl had wandered off Kat turned to Phaedryn and her face went deadly serious. "Well, I guess we need to talk business now, don't we?" There were many other things Phaedryn desperately wanted to talk to this woman about, namely her history, but that would have to wait for another time. Right now she just wanted to get this over with and go question her brother.

"I suppose we do," Kat said with a sigh. "I still don't know exactly what it is that you did but your actions have caused the uh…'upper management' to take notice and they are not especially happy."

"Well, that's just too bad now isn't it?" She wasn't sure why she was on the defensive here but something about the tone of Katra's voice raised her hackles. Besides, she felt completely justified in what she had done for Nick. "He deserved much better and I simply righted the problem. If they have something to say to me they can say it themselves."

Kat shook her head sadly, "That's not the way it works."

"Oh? Well tell me then how it works why don't you?" Phaedryn sneered. She knew perfectly well that this was more of a game than anything but it was a game that needed to be played out.

The waitress returned and put Kat's order down on the table and once she'd wandered off again Kat glared at Phaedryn. "You can't just go changing the course of events. You're going to throw a wrench into the flow of fate and that will eventually effect everyone, and not in a good way."

Phaedryn looked as if she were mulling over what the other woman had just told her and eventually nodded, "I see. Now do you understand that what I did changes nothing for anyone other than Nick?" Kat looked confused. "Cherise is still dead, Nick and Ash are still on the outs, and Nick is still alone. Nothing has changed other than that he now hasn't spent two years in Neratiti surfing."

Kat shook her head at Phaedryn, "You really don't understand do you? You can't doing things like that, it will throw the entire universe out of balance."

Phaedryn had had about enough of the other woman's condescension, "No, you don't understand. Nothing I did will change anything. I'm not stupid, believe me I think that after all this time I know how this works. Plus if had been detrimental I couldn't have done it anyway."

Kat pinched the bridge of her nose, "Phaedryn, you are pissing off the wrong people. ZT is not one to be trifled with."

"And neither am I." Phaedryn said with a scowl as she rose from the table and glared down at Kat, "If Zebulon has a problem with me, he can take it up with me himself," she said as she tossed her napkin down onto the table and stalked off.

OoOoOo

Nick shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans and started walking down the street again. He'd been leaning against a wall watching the front entrance of the bar Sanctuary for a while and no one had noticed him. Lamenting the loss of his old life when he'd made a simple mistake he growled low in his throat and turned away from the bar and the happy people inside. He barely heard the voice that called his name as he stalked away.

"Nick! Wait up."

He turned around to find Maggie Goudeau trotting up behind him. He hadn't seen the girl in months, since before his mother died and the fact that she was smiling at him warmed his heart and made him have a small amount of hope that not everyone had abandoned him. Maggie had been one of his study partners at school and her openly friendly attitude always made him happy to be around her.

"You look like the weight of the world is on your shoulders Nick. How've you been?"

"You're talking to me?"

She laughed and nodded at him enthusiastically, "Of course I am silly. Why wouldn't I be?"

He shrugged, "No reason. Just a lot of folks aren't too happy with me these days."

Maggie stopped and planted her hands on her hips, "Well then they are fools aren't they?"

He couldn't help but laugh at her brashness. That was one quality about Maggie he'd always appreciated. "So where's Wren tonight?"

"Working," she said pointing back at the bar. "What are you up to tonight?"

"Just moping around feeling sorry for myself."

She batted him on the shoulder and grinned at him in the streetlights, "Well knock it off pal. How about you buy me a drink?"


	3. Chapter 3

Maggie and Nick were sitting at the back of the bar laughing over something silly when Phaedryn walked in. Nick was facing the door so he saw her first and a cold tremor slid down his spine. He knew this woman somehow, but he couldn't place her. Searching his memories he came up with nothing and shrugged it off as a coincidence, she probably reminded him of someone he'd gone to school with. He turned back to face Maggie but not before he noticed the woman at the door staring at him with a soft smile on her lips. She looked at him like she knew him and he could swear he saw her wink at him when she turned towards the bar.

Phaedryn wandered over to the bar and was talking to Colt when Nick came up behind her. She had felt him watching her and wondered if he knew who she was. Playing it casual she lingered after Colt had gone to help another patron and allowed Nick to slide up to the bar next to her. He cleared his throat to get her attention and she smiled as she looked over at him.

"Excuse me but do I know you?" he asked in a low voice.

"I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I'd remember someone as cute as you." She probed gently in his mind and found out that everything she'd done to his memory was still intact. As far as Nick knew he'd come home to find his mother bleeding to death on the floor of the house he'd bought for her with the money he'd earned as a squire. Phaedryn had inserted the false memory when she returned him to his old life and he was, apparently, none the wiser.

Nick smiled shyly, a motion that was surely an act, and looked at her from under the screen of his bangs, "I just can't help feeling like I've seen you somewhere before."

She studied him as if she were interested in his feeble attempt at picking her up, "Well if you've been to the zoo in the past few months you may have seen me there."

"That must be it," he grinned and leaned against the bar. "I'm Nick Gautier."

She held out her hand to shake his and grinned back, "Alicia Caine," she replied using her human name although Phaedryn would mean nothing to him. Nick shook her hand firmly and she turned to face the rest of the restaurant leaning herself against the bar as he had. "So, I haven't seen you around here, where do you hide?"

"What?"

"I said where do you hide. I spend a lot of time in here these days and I don't think I've seen you around so you must be hiding somewhere. Or is there a better bar around that I haven't found yet?"

Nick studied her and laughed, "Only bar I've been hanging out recently is the one in my house."

"Ah, well that doesn't sound like much fun."

"Beats the alternative."

Now it was her turn to study him. She had hoped that he wouldn't fall this deeply into himself but she hadn't had time to stick around and hold his hand either. She liked Nick and wanted to see him live his life the way fate had planned not trapped as a Dark Hunter because he'd made a mistake. She knew how the rules of this game were laid out, and she hadn't broken them, just changed them enough to right a few wrongs on both Nick and Ash's parts. "Should I ask or should the deep broody look tell me what I need to know?"

He blinked in surprise, "Broody huh? And you say you've been in this bar a while and you think _I'm_ broody? Wow."

She laughed at his joke and brushed a hand through her hair, "Yeah I guess you're right, there is a perpetual grumpiness in here isn't there?"

"Oh you have no idea!"

Colt picked that moment to come back over to where they were leaning and he actually managed to contain a growl so that it only carried to them. "'Licia you need anything?"

"Nah, I'm good Colt, thanks." She smiled at the man behind the bar and nodded imperceptibly to the unspoken question he was asking her. Yes, she was fine. No, Nick wasn't bothering her. Apparently the denizens of Sanctuary were still a bit edgy about Nick and his relationship to Acheron. "You feel like shooting a game of pool?" she said as she turned back towards Nick. She wanted to steer him away from any potential conflicts with the regulars of Sanctuary. Colt had really liked Cherise and he hadn't quite forgiven Nick for her death even though it had been none of his doing.

The look of relief on his face made her heart ache, and she wondered exactly how badly people had been treating him since he pissed off Ash. He held out a hand motioning her to lead the way and he happily followed along behind her as she crossed the bar and slipped into the darkened back quarter of the building. Finding the pool table empty she racked the balls and waited for him to break. "So tell me about yourself Nick."

"Not much to tell."

"Oh I doubt that, you look like a very complex person to me. What do you do for a living?"

He leaned over the table and smacked the cue ball with a little too much force sending it sailing through the air to Alicia who caught it before it hit her.

"Whoa, good reflexes. Uh, well I'm not working at the moment."

"Okay," she said putting the cue ball back on the table. "So what did you used to do?"

He shot the ball again, this time breaking the rack and he gulped before saying, "I used to work for a management company." That was the standard cover story all of the Squires gave. It was ambiguous enough to be believable and there was enough truth to it that they weren't actually lying.

She leaned against the side of the table and looked critically at him, "So what happened?"

"Huh, well the management and I had a difference of opinion."

Taking her turn and missing her shot on purpose she looked sheepish and raised her eyebrows at him in question. "So did you get fired or what?"

"Something like that. I guess I just went my own way and then life happened and I've been kinda keeping to myself ever since."

"Sounds pretty tragic. Must be time for a vacation." She couldn't help but grin at his smile and she moved around the table towards him. "So are you a beach guy or a mountain guy?"

Nick didn't get a chance to answer before Carson Whitethunder strode over and slung his arm over Alicia's shoulder. "Where have you been woman? Margie's been driving me nuts and I need a sane person to talk to." The tall dark skinned man looked her up and down and then grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. "Damn good to see you girl."

"Good to see you to Carson. And if you're looking to me for sanity you're gonna be mighty disappointed." Nick watched them noting at the familiarity between the two and he slid himself even farther into the dark corner as they talked. Nick knew that Carson was a veterinarian in town as well as the medical caretaker here at Sanctuary and Alicia had said she worked at the zoo so maybe they knew each other professionally. Eventually, Alicia turned back to Nick and motioned him over, "Nick do you know Carson?"

"Yeah, been a while though," Nick said gruffly as the other man reached for his hand.

"Good to see you Nick. I'm real sorry about your momma, she was a damn fine woman."

The complete despair that washed over Nick's face made Carson flinch and Alicia reached over to put a hand on Nick's shoulder. She sent waves of comfort and compassion to him and he nodded sadly at Carson, "Thanks Carson, that means a lot." He smiled weakly and handed his pool cue to Alicia, "You're gonna have to excuse me. I've got something I need to do." Before she could protest he'd already crossed the bar and was out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Katra stood deep in the shadows and watched as Nick left the bar and trudged down the street towards the Garden District. She followed behind him at a distance that he wouldn't notice. She had a hunch that Nick's mental adjustment was flawed and potentially disastrous so she was going to follow him until she found out the truth. When Zebulon had asked her to confront Phaedryn she hadn't figured that the woman would argue with her. No one argued with the Cthonians, ever. But this woman seemed to not care a whit about the possibility that she was angering one of them. Katra herself didn't know the full extent of the Cthonians' powers but she did know that they were known as god killers, and one of them told her to do something she didn't question it. They were the ones that were sent out when something went so far wrong that no one could fix it, not even a god. So when ZT had called her and asked her to look into the situation that Phaedryn instigated, she did so willingly.

However, she found herself somewhat conflicted because she actually liked the other woman even though she had been on the defensive at their meeting. Phaedryn seemed to be genuinely nice and relatively harmless even though she claimed to be Savitar's sister. Kat didn't quite believe that claim since Savitar had been around for a very long time and no one had ever mentioned a sibling of his before. Of course it was altogether possible, Savitar was a great mystery to everyone and his background was shrouded in so much fog it was practically non-existent. No one even knew _what_ Savitar was much less who his family was if he had one. So Kat didn't discount that Phaedryn could be his sister and therefore as powerful as he was. Or, on the other hand, she could be totally innocuous.

Because of that first thought, she hung back a little farther and let Nick glide away from her. She had to observe him totally covertly because if Phaedryn got wind of it, or worse yet, if Savitar did, then things could get very ugly indeed.

OoOoOo

Nick slammed the door behind him and stomped across the kitchen to the living room. He flopped down on the sofa and let out the deep sigh of frustration he'd been holding back since the bar. He should have known that someone would say something about his mother and he should have been ready for it but damn it, it hurt so much still. His mother had been his best friend, a lifeline for him as he muddled his way through his teenage years and into adulthood. And when she died, that lifeline was cut and he felt so painfully alone.

He had been trying so hard to move past her death and he simply couldn't. It was dragging him down into a despair that he didn't think he would ever get out of. If only he had someone he could talk to about it all. Ash would be the logical choice, no one knew Nick and his mother better, but that certainly wasn't an option now that Nick had screwed their relationship up entirely. One simple mistake and his whole world had come crashing down around him and there was no way of getting himself out of the hole he'd dug.

He balled his fists and rubbed at his eyes as the pain behind them started to throb. Groaning as the headache grew, he got back up and walked to the kitchen where he reached for a bottle of anything alcoholic and leaned against the counter taking a deep swallow from the bottle. Soon the pain would go away.

OoOoOo

Kat stood hidden in the shadows outside the window watching Nick try to drown his sorrows in the bottom of a bottle. He certainly didn't seem to know anything was amiss and from the way he was acting she thought he might very well have no recollection of what had really happened to him. She still didn't like the fact that Phaedryn had altered the course of time. It just wasn't natural.

Of course she changed the flow of time for no one but Nick. Everyone else still had done what they had originally been destined to do, they just had no memories of anything other than Cherise's murder and Nick's despair. Still, it wasn't intrinsic and time had a funny way of reverting itself when someone messed with it. That could cause all kinds of headaches to the powers in charge. Powers like the Cthonians that were the watchdogs of the supernatural beings. Hence ZT's request for Kat to investigate Nick's new time line.

She shook her head as he slammed back the liquor and wondered how long he'd been hiding from the pain he felt. She'd lost a lot of close friends and it had hurt for a very long time but she didn't think it measured up to what Nick was feeling. She knew his history and the bond he had with his mother but she thought that maybe he was wallowing in his grief a bit more than was healthy. He totally reminded her of Sin when he'd told her stories of his daughter and how she'd died. Nick needed someone to talk to, obviously, and more importantly, someone to lean on as he worked though his grief. Right now he didn't have anyone like that. Maybe there was something she could do to assist him.


	5. Chapter 5

In the depths of Kalosis the creature stirred more. It was fully awake now and the scent of destruction on the dank wind that flowed through the cavern invigorated it. It shook its head and focused it's energy on the state of the world and as it's mental feelers flowed across the land it searched for the key that would release it completely. So much had changed in the millennia since it had gone to sleep. The blight of the human population was more than it had ever imagined possible. But that could be changed.

OoOoOo

Phaedryn looked out over the balcony of the meeting hall in Neratiti and let the ever -present cool ocean breeze lift her hair off her shoulders. She'd come here to talk to her brother about Katra but he was in a meeting with the Omegrion right now so she waited.

There couldn't be any coincidence in the girl's looks, and it burned like a dagger between her shoulder blades to know that Ash hadn't told her the truth. The soft sound of the waves lapping up on the beach calmed her and now she didn't want to explode into a rage but she was still quite angry. Sighing loudly she left the balcony and walked down to the small sand dunes and sat herself at the edge of the water watching the waves play before her.

Eventually Savitar arrived, looking peeved and staring longingly out at the waves. She knew that he wanted to go surf but her being here was holding him back. His face softened as he looked down at her and noted the anger on her face. "Whoa. Who pissed in your corn flakes?"

"Do you know who Katra is?"

Savitar sat down next to her and drew designs in the sand with his finger, "One of Artemis' kori's right? She's also running errands for Zebulon last I heard, the lazy bastard." Phaedryn nodded. "I can't say I've ever met her. Why?"

Phaedryn raised her hands to chest height and spread them apart conjuring a faint image of the woman between them. Savitar studied the image for a moment and then realization dawned on his face. "Oh shit."

"Yeah, tell me about it. More to the point, why _didn't_ you tell me about it?"

Savitar shook his head sadly, "I didn't know. Ash didn't say anything to you about this?"

"No, he thought he was sterile all this time. It must have happened right after he was returned. He may have still had a little juice left after he…" She broke off her words with a thick sob as the reality of what had happened overwhelmed her. Savitar leaned over silently and pulled her into his arms allowing her to release all of her emotion without saying a word. He wracked his brain while he waited for her, trying to find any thread of what he'd seen so clearly in the image of the woman's face. Miles of history flowed out in his mind, all sliding past at a rate he controlled as he searched for clues about the girl's identity. Eventually he found nothing and sadly pulled back from his sister.

"Baby," he said softly as she tried to compose herself. "I can't find anything anywhere. He's telling you the truth. So far as Acheron knows, that is. What really happened may be a different story."

Phaedryn sniffled and nodded, "Okay, thank you."

"You're not going to confront him about this are you?"

She shook her head no and wiped the tears off her cheeks. "No. If you say he doesn't know anything about it then he doesn't know anything about it. I guess it's just one more thing I get to hold against _her_ in the end."

Savitar grinned wickedly and stood up, holding out a hand for her. "I think I like that plan."

"You would you evil bastard. Speaking of, since when is Zebulon too lazy to do his own work? I thought he was the one that was all eager to kick ass and take names. Why does he have someone running errands for him?

"Beats me? Guess he's still keeping an eye on the whole Atlantis deal. I'll check up on him later. So, when am I gonna get to spend some good quality time with my niece? Gotta start her surfing soon if she's ever going to be able to keep up with me."

"Whenever you like. You know where she is, all you have to do is come visit."

"Now why can't you bring her here? Beach is a great place for a little girl." The pout on his face almost made her giggle.

"Fine you big baby. I've got a date with Tabby day after tomorrow. After that I'm free. Why don't I give you a call and we'll see what happens?"

He nodded carefully and she could see the hint of something unsaid in his eyes. She cocked her head and waited for him to spit it out. "Something bad is coming. I can feel it but I'm still not sure what it is. I want Nea to be safe."

"You're that worried about her?"

Sav just kept looking out at the waves. Eventually he said carefully, "I guess I am. Something tells me she's not going to be safe when this thing shows up, whatever it is. I'll keep an ear to the ground and let you know the instant I learn any more."

"Okay, I'll keep her well guarded. I'll talk to you soon okay?" She leaned over and kissed her brother on the cheek and then vanished from the beach.


	6. Chapter 6

"No, you're wrong, that's not his name."

She pinched the bridge of her nose, "Yes it is. He was in charge of the second one not the first one."

"I beg to differ."

"Look, I know you are the master of all this knowledge. There's times when you astound me, but I know I'm right on this."

He sighed loudly and shook his head at her, "Fine, prove it."

She blinked at him and smiled, then rose and wandered out of the room. He watched her leave and wondered how long it would take her to come back. She was a stubborn one and he loved to challenge her when she got like this. You never knew what she would come up with and he smiled as he thought about the determined look on her face. A few minutes later she came back leafing through a large book the he knew was not from this house.

She scowled at the book and then her face brightened as she found what she was looking for. "Ha! Here it is, 'Moff Jerjerrod was the overseer of the construction of the _second_ Death Star' see? Told you!"

Xiovar sighed in disgust and nodded to admit his defeat in the battle they had been in over the correct answer. "You are correct my lady, I concede the point."

"Are you two done yet?" Tabitha asked from across the room. "I am totally never playing Star Wars Trivial Pursuit with you two again. Ever!" She grinned down at the baby she was changing and finished snapping up the bottom of her pants and picked the little girl up. "Your mommy is a loon you know that Nea?" The little girl giggled and reached for Tabitha's auburn hair.

"I am not a loon thank you very much. I just happen to know that I am right and I'm not gonna let some silly demon get the better of me." Phaedryn tossed the book on the chair in Tabby's living room and flopped back down on the sofa next to Xiovar. He raised an eyebrow at her description of him and broke into a smile when her face softened and she tucked herself up under his arm.

Tabitha sat back down on the chair across from them and bounced Akrinea on her knee. "So when are you guys going to spend some quality time down here? Mandy keeps asking if you're gonna bring this little monster to play with Marissa and Nicky."

"Well, honestly I'd love to come over, but with her growing fangs I'm not sure it's a great idea. I mean what happens if fangs aren't the only thing she's getting?"

Xiovar looked down at her and raised his eyebrows, "Do you think she is gaining powers?"

"Oh I'm sure she already has plenty, but having them and being able to control them are two entirely separate things you know." Phaedryn reached out for the baby who was now starting to get fussy in Tabby's arms. "I know that Mandy and the kids are a little bit more juiced than your average folk are but I really don't want Nea around anyone that can't handle her powers until she can control them. That's a play date incident I don't want to clean up."

"I will go with her and watch her if you wish my lady. It would do her good to spend time with other children." Xiovar patted her thigh and started making funny faces at the baby. Nea quieted and looked up at him studying his face.

"Are you sure you can handle her if she gets upset?"

"If I cannot, it will not take much to get you to come to my rescue, now will it?" Xiovar was teasing but the way he curled his lips up over his fangs seemed mildly threatening. However, Phaedryn could feel nothing but love from him.

"Well, that would make it easier for me to help Ash out."

Tabitha's head rose in question, "Help him with what?"

Phaedryn glanced over at Xiovar as if she had just let loose a secret that she shouldn't have, "Oh, he was looking for someone to help him out with the hunters. Seems since Stryker vanished, the Daimons are a bit more rowdy and the hunters have been having a bit of trouble with them. Ash can't be everywhere at once, no matter what you people think, so I told him that I would help him out."

Tabitha started laughing exuberantly, "Oh that's just funny!"

Phaedryn glared at her friend, "Why is that funny?"

"Oh I just got a mental picture of you kicking a bunch of Daimon's asses and suddenly going 'wait, gotta go feed the baby'. Okay, not as funny as I thought." Tabitha chewed her lip and looked somewhat repentant for what she'd just said. "So are you really gonna help him out?"

"I don't see that I have much of a choice. If we don't get the Daimons back in line they are going to take over the world faster than we can imagine. There's actually been a huge rise of Daimon attacks in all of the major cities in the past few months and it's getting pretty hard to cover it up, so something's got to change and fast. So Ash wants to make a proactive push on knocking them back down. Again with the not being able to be everywhere at once so he's looking for some help and I seem to be it." What Phaedryn didn't say was that something else was coming fast on their heels as well. Ash had noticed the increase of hostile activity in several cities and finally asked if she would help him keep an eye on things until he could figure out what was going on and how to stop it. After what Savitar had told her the day before, she quickly agreed.

"Huh, and Ash is fine with you going out against hordes of Daimons?"

Phae smiled and tried not to look smug, "Well I am somewhat more 'juiced up' than before. I think that I can handle myself. Plus I've got some serious demon backup," she glanced to Xiovar who was cooing at the baby, "and I've actually been learning some really neat ass kicking techniques."

Tabitha nodded and grinned, "Well count me in for backup too. You know I love a good Daimon ass kicking."


	7. Chapter 7

Ash strode down the alley like he owned the world, Phaedryn standing behind him, was glaring at the group of Daimons he was heading for. "Oh you guys are totally gonna get your butts handed to you. You know that right?" she taunted. Ash glanced over his shoulder and winked at her from behind his dark sunglasses.

"It's not really fair is it?" he said as he turned back to the blonde giants in front of him.

Phaedryn chuckled, "Nope. What is it? Eight of them and only one of you? Seems like there ought to be more huh?"

Ash dropped into a half crouch and waited for the Daimons to attack him, "Maybe the next group will be more challenging. Then you can get your hands dirty too."

The lead Daimon growled at Ash and glanced back at Phaedryn who was leaning casually against a wall. "Is that your woman? She looks good enough to eat. Maybe we'll let her live for a little while after we're done with you."

Ash laughed hard enough that he bent over from it, "Oh goddess that's funny! You may want to rethink that plan pal. I'm not the one you've got to worry about here. She is."

Another of the blonde life stealers blinked in confusion, "What could a harmless woman possibly do to us?"

"See? That's the problem now days, no one ever gives me enough credit. Babe, do I really look that harmless?" She waited for him to shake his head no, "Well yeah, but you know me and what I'm capable of. Damn it! I was hoping the leather would make me look more menacing. You should have told me."

"Oh like I was going to tell you not to wear the incredibly sexy leather pants?" By now the Daimons were thoroughly confounded as to what on earth possessed these creatures. Ash turned back towards his wife, totally ignoring the pack of Daimons, which gave them the chance to attack him en masse. They drove him to the ground and piled on top of him. Phaedryn didn't move from her spot by the wall and waited for Ash to destroy the attackers. He threw off several of the men and produced a long staff of wood from thin air, swirling it around him knocking several of the Daimons to the ground as he rose up and faced them again. It didn't take him long to kill most of them, driving the pointed end of his stick into the black spots over their hearts and turning them into showers of fine golden dust. Soon there were only two of the Daimons left and both of them were limping as they tried to escape. "You want a go at them Sati?" Ash called as he walked after them.

"No, that's fine, you go on. Don't take too long though, I told Tabby we'd be there by five."

"Right! Hurrying up." He said as he lunged for the closest Daimon and drove his staff straight through the man's back and into his heart making him explode into a cloud of dust.

The other Daimon had tripped from his wounded leg and fallen to the ground not far from where Ash was standing. He looked up at the Atlantean with a look of confusion and terror on his face, "Who are you?" he panted.

Ash glared down at the man and snarled at him, "Your worst nightmare," as he plunged his staff into the Daimon's chest and killed him. Then he spun around and his staff disappeared back to wherever it had come from as Ash wiped the fine layer of golden dust off his shirt, "Okay, ready to go?" he said casually as Phaedryn joined him at the end of the alley.

"You know it's really cruel to taunt them like that. You could just flash them off and be done with it."

"I know, but it's more fun this way," he grinned at her with a predatory snarl. Then his demeanor changed completely and he held out his arm for her to take and they vanished from the alley.

OoOoOo

"So, how goes the ass kicking?" Valerius asked as he passed a huge bowl of popcorn to Xiovar. The demon nodded his thanks to the man and shifted the baby in his lap so that she was facing the TV.

"Not bad." Phaedryn replied as she reached for a handful of popcorn. "Well, that's not true. I assume it's not bad but Ash won't let me do anything." She teased and winked at her husband who sat on the other end of the couch.

"Oh now don't you go being all chauvinistic Ash," Tabitha chided from the kitchen.

Ash looked to Valerius for some back up but the Roman merely shrugged to let the other man know he was on his own. Valerius knew all too well not to provoke women, especially his wife. "Traitor," Ash whispered and rose from the couch. "Now Tabitha, you know darn well that I know that Phae is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. I'm just being a gentleman and doing all the hard parts."

Tabitha came out of the kitchen with a tray full of beverages on it and brushed past Ash, glaring up at him. "Ri-ight. Now sit your chauvinistic butt down and start the movie will you?" She leaned over and kissed her husband and flopped down on the loveseat next to him as Phaedryn giggled and reached for the remote.

OoOoOo

Later that night after they'd said their goodbyes to Tabitha and Valerius and Akrinea was tucked into her bed and fast asleep Ash slid his arms around Phaedryn's waist and buried his face in her hair. "You don't really think I'm being chauvinistic do you?"

"No, but you're not actually letting me _do_ anything either. I'm not going to be much help to you if you won't let me out of your sight."

He sighed and walked across the room. "I don't want you to get hurt Sati." She planted her hands on her hips and glared at him. Ash wilted a little at her look and raised his hands in surrender. "Fine, next time you get to do all the work. Damn it Phae, I know perfectly well what you're capable of and I still can't bring myself to let you face a bunch of Daimons. Why can't I get past it?"

She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him, "Well I was human for a long time and you're probably still thinking of me like that. You need to get over that now." She lay her head on his chest and listened to his heart beating steadily. "Tell you what, I'll go alone next time and you can just sit back and watch from here. You'll know if I get in any trouble and then you can come save me. Okay?"

He sighed loudly as he stroked her hair, "You're a stubborn one you know that?"

Phaedryn laughed and looked up into his swirling silver eyes, "You don't know the half of it babe. Wait till you see me pissed off!"

"Can I pass on that? I think my mother is enough pissed off woman for me. Speaking of, is it okay if I take Nea to visit her?"

Phaedryn pulled back a bit and studied him. "You think that's a good idea?"

Ash ran a finger along her jaw line and noted how tightly she was clenching it, "I don't see what harm it could do. It's not like she's got any power anymore."

"I know but Nea is the one with the power now. What if your mother tries to get it back? I don't think we should dangle that carrot if you know what I mean."

Ash pondered that for a minute and guided his wife to the bed where they sat. "I don't think she can. As far as I know she has absolutely no power anymore. That means that she can't take them by force and I certainly don't know of anyway to get the power back otherwise. Besides, it's not like I won't be there watching over Nea every second." He laced his fingers with hers and waited for her to think about what he'd said. "It's only fair Phae, after all, she is Nea's grandmother even if she wasn't always the nicest person on the planet."

Phaedryn pinched the bridge of her nose trying to fight off the oncoming headache. She knew she wasn't going to win this argument and there really wasn't any reason not to let Apollymi see Nea. The goddess formerly known as The Destroyer was completely powerless and relatively harmless now. Plus it wasn't like there weren't beings a whole lot scarier than Apollymi that she trusted with the baby. "Fine. But don't expect me to be all chummy with her."

Ash laughed at his wife's easy dismissal of the fact that his mother had once killed her. "I wouldn't dream of it Sati. Okay then, you go kick Daimon's asses and I'll take Nea to visit Yana."


	8. Chapter 8

The low growling noise became louder as the flickering lights from the torches danced across his face. Suddenly two massive Charonte demons swooped across the room and blocked his passage, their wings unfurled and their claws extended ready to protect their mistress. "Oh give it a rest will you? Let me through." Ash purred as he faced the snarling demons. He hugged Nea closer to his chest but the little girl was squirming and giggling at the Charontes because she was used to the ones from Katoteros who were her playmates. Ash wasn't sure exactly what would happen at his appearance here since he had not physically been near his mother since his birth. But now that her powers were no longer present, his proximity to her wouldn't bring about the end of the world so he deemed it safe enough.

"You are not welcome here abomination," one of the demons growled.

"Piss off! She's my mother and I can visit her if I want to." He pushed himself between the two bristling demons, shoving them aside with a brief flick of his fingers, and kept going towards the small garden he knew his mother was sitting in. When he got there he stopped at the gate and looked down at his daughter who was gazing around at the sights of Kalosis. "Don't get too used to this sweetheart, we're not going to stay too long." The little girl gurgled in his arms and he pushed the gate open and went through.

Apollymi was sitting on a small bench in the middle of the garden staring forlornly at her roses. The expression on her face showed Ash how tired she was of her incredibly long life. Now that she had no power and no ambition to destroy the world, the immense pressure of being an immortal with no purpose in the universe weighted heavily on her. Plus she was still trapped in Kalosis but now she had no hope of escaping. When Ash cleared his throat softly to get her attention she looked up and a faint smile traced her lips after the initial surprise. "Hello M'gios, what brings you here? I had not thought you to want to visit me, now…"

He smiled gently and walked across the tiny garden and stood in front of her, "I'd like you to meet your granddaughter."

Apollymi blinked in surprise and her eyes moved from her son's face to the form of the small child in his arms. She studied the girl intently, looking for flaws and wondering who the mother was. Akrinea grinned at her with a fang filled mouth and reached out for her grandmother. Apollymi gasped as the child leaned out for her and then finally held up her hands to accept the girl. "She's beautiful. What is her name?"

Acheron passed the girl to the former goddess and sat beside her on the bench, "Akrinea."

Nea sat happily on her grandmother's lap, chubby fists wrapped in the older woman's white blonde hair. "Well aren't you a surprise Gapi? Although, I suppose I should have been expecting it." She settled the child more firmly on her lap and turned her gaze to her son, "She's the one that got my power isn't she?" Ash nodded carefully, afraid that he would anger her. Apollymi merely nodded once and looked back down at the girl, "Perhaps it is the right course. I realize that now. And her mother?"

"Phaedryn," Ash said simply.

"Phae…? Oh! The peasant girl, yes?"

"Yes mother, the one you killed. The one you tried to kill again recently." He tried to keep the anger out of his voice but it was too near the surface to control it completely.

Apollymi lowered her gaze and looked sadly at her granddaughter, "You won't forgive me for that will you?"

Ash shook his head and took his mother's hand, "I can't. I'm sorry. And Phaedryn certainly won't."

Apollymi laughed bitterly, "No, I wouldn't expect her to." She looked at the child on her lap and smiled as the little girl giggled and cooed at her. "Times have changed and the world moves on without me. Perhaps it is for the best. I'm sure she will make you proud."

The look on the Atlantean's face was soft and he carefully chose his words, "I think she will make you proud as well." He paused a moment and studied his mother. "You can be a part of her life if you chose."

Apollymi looked stunned and quickly turned her face towards the ethereally pretty child on her lap allowing the cascade of her hair to hide her face from her son. Nea giggled as the hair tickled her arms and she leaned over and hugged her grandmother. The former goddess struggled not to allow her emotions overwhelm her but she failed quite spectacularly when the little girl looked up at her and said, "Ah-na." The sob that escaped from Ash's mother's throat made his heart swell and he silently thanked his child for being the catalyst that brought her back to her humanity.

OoOoOo

Elsewhere in Kalosis, the beast that had awoken grinned in delight as it realized that the key to its freedom had come to it.\

OoOoOo

Nick woke on the sofa in his living room, his neck cramped and aching and an empty bottle of vodka on his chest. The sun warmed his face but he turned away from it, throwing an arm over his eyes and trying to return to the oblivion he had left. Somewhere in his house there was a phone ringing and he growled as he rolled off the couch and stood up swaying. Glancing across the room at a clock he saw that it was nearly two in the afternoon. The phone stopped ringing and then immediately started again as Nick headed for the stairs and a shower. Whoever was calling him could either leave a message or wait for him.

After washing the pain out of his muscles and waking up enough to at least go out to get more alcohol, he sighed loudly as he leaned against the cool tile wall of the shower. He really needed to get himself out of this self-depreciative rut he was in but drinking himself into oblivion was so much easier than facing reality. When the water finally went cold he shut it off and searched for clean clothes.

Eventually he found himself in the kitchen drinking a glass of juice and wondering what he was going to do with himself for the rest of the day. Once more the phone rang but this time it was his cell phone trilling from the counter beside him. "Hello?"

"Hi Nick, I was just wondering if you were okay. You ran out of the bar pretty fast the other night."

He searched his scattered memory for a clue to whose voice this was. Suddenly it clicked and he sputtered, "Maggie? Oh I uh, sorry about that I had someplace I had to be."

"Okay, I was just checking in to make sure you were okay."

"Thank you, I'm fine."

They talked for a few more minutes and then when he'd said goodbye and rang off with her he suddenly decided to call Otto. The other man was now living in Seattle, squiring for Caedmon, a Celtic dark hunter that had been reassigned to Seattle after the disaster with the Mayor a few months back. Otto and Nick had been fast friends for years and Nick had told him more secrets than anyone else he knew. Now that he had upset Ash he had no one left to talk to so he called Otto.

"'Lo?" Otto grumbled from far away.

"Hey…Otto. What's happening?"

Nick could hear the other man rolling over in a bed and sitting up, "Nick? Is that you?"

"Yeah man, how you doing?"

"Good. You?"

Otto wondered just how bad off Nick had gotten after Cherise had died. He hadn't spent that much time in New Orleans after it had happened because he'd been reassigned to Seattle but he'd heard from Kyrian and some of the other New Orleans crew that Nick had sunk into a despair that was as dangerous as it was deep. In the past the two men had been fast friends and they'd spent much of their time together. Now days Otto was busy with his own life and truthfully, he hadn't been spending too much time thinking about Nick, much less calling him to check up.

They talked for a long time, catching each other up on various goings on in their respective cities. After Nick started to run out of things to talk about Otto could hear the depression seeping back into his friend's voice. "Want to talk about it?"

Nick let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, "Uh…do you mind?"

"That's what friends are for Nick."


	9. Chapter 9

Acheron returned to Katoteros with Nea happily giggling as she bounced in his arms. When they popped back into the home she knew so well she glanced around as the pterygsauras flittered into the room and squawked happily to greet her. Ash let the little dragons have a few moments with Nea and then carried her into her nursery where he found Phaedryn sitting with her eyes closed in the rocking chair. He put Nea down on the floor and stared at his wife. Phaedryn had gone out on her own tonight to back up the Italian hunters that had been having a string of violent Daimon attacks. He had been worried that something would happen to her but she appeared to be fine, albeit asleep.

Nea had toddled her way over to her mother and was now clambering up her mother's knee, which woke Phaedryn up. She smiled down at her daughter and picked her up, gently rocking her and kissing her. "Hello sweetie," she crooned as Nea hugged her mother. "How was your visit?" she asked Ash.

"Not bad. Better than I thought it would go. No telikos so that was a plus. She's really changed a lot."

"Oh? Was she glad to meet Nea?"

Ash sat on the floor by the rocking chair and looked at the women he loved. "Very glad. She's really sorry about everything you know."

Phaedryn sighed, "I know she is, but baby, she _killed_ me. Almost twice. Sorry Ash, but I can't forgiver her."

He nodded slowly, "I understand. So how was your night?"

"Exhausting. Do you know how hard it is to chase a pack of Daimons through Venice?"

Ash chuckled at the mental picture he got of his wife slogging through the canals of Venice in a chase after several huge blonde men. "Sorry, I should have sent you someplace a bit easier."

"Oh it wasn't that bad but Vittorio seemed to think that I needed to be the bait. So I had to attempt to look helpless and tasty."

Now Ash was really laughing as he thought about Phaedryn's attempt to look less imposing than she was. Now that Savitar had resurrected her, she radiated an aura of power that even humans noticed. "Guess that didn't work out so well huh?"

"Nope, well… actually it did. The Daimons took the bait but then once Vittorio and Serena started attacking them a cop decided to come to my rescue from the big bad gang members that were fighting around me. It was pretty hard to convince him that I was okay and could get 'home' all by myself so I could go help out."

Acheron winced and tried not to laugh too hard over the mishap. "So I take it you cleared them all out in the end?"

She nodded, "Yeah but it was an interesting chase for a while. So what's my next assignment boss?"

He studied her face and shrugged, "I don't know, where would you like to go?"

Phaedryn grinned wickedly and passed the baby to him as she rose from the chair, "How about your bed?"

"Works for me."

OoOoOo

Nick was tired of flipping through the channels on the TV and finding nothing on so he got up off the sofa and wandered into the kitchen. Staring out the large window over the sink he realized that he was wasting the beautiful day away and he decided to take a walk. He had actually felt much better after talking to Otto for an hour or so. Maybe he just needed to get all of the sadness off his chest and move on with his life. He grabbed his keys and went out the back door, stopping on the step to allow the sunshine to warm his face. It was a beautiful day out and he tried desperately to remember the last nice day like this he'd actually enjoyed. When he couldn't think of one, that saddened him a little and he decided that he would enjoy this day no matter what it took.

He soon found himself walking along the tree-lined streets of the garden district. As he passed a park he heard the sound of children playing on the playground and he smiled a little wondering how Marissa and her new baby brother were doing. Maybe he'd stop by the Hunter's house and visit for a while. He was reaching into his pocket to pull out his cell phone to call when he was suddenly slammed into and knocked to the ground.

Trying to get his bearings and figure out what happened to him he saw a flash of blond hair and panicked for just a moment until he remembered that it was broad daylight and probably not a Daimon attacking him. He tried to get up but found that he was pinned down by the blonde person on top of him who was also struggling to rise. Eventually she untangled herself enough to back up and let up some of the pressure she was pushing down on him with, and he found himself looking into the face of one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry!" she said as she sat back on the ground and tried to compose herself. "I am such a klutz it's unbelievable."

"Well I wasn't actually paying attention either. Here, let me help you up," he said holding out his hand as he rose from the ground. Once he pulled her to her feet he realized that she was wearing a pair of rollerblades and was probably the tallest woman he'd ever seen. She was easily six feet tall and strikingly beautiful. "So what do I have to do to get you to knock me off my feet again?"

"Probably not much, I have a tendency to bowl people over." She brushed herself off and then her gaze fell on the man she'd run over. Holding out her hand she grinned, "I'm Kat."

"Nick, nice to meet you."

Kat looked him over and flushed a little. "I really am sorry about that. You're okay right?"

"Oh I'll live," he said with a sly grin. "You okay?"

Kat rolled across the path to a nearby bench, straightening out her kneepads as she sat down. "Yup, two thumbs up here."

Nick couldn't help himself from sitting down next to her, there was something intriguing about this woman and he couldn't bring himself to just walk away. Plus he had a deep-seated feeling that he knew her somehow. Bouncing the idea of letting her leave around in his mind he shook his head and said, "Ah what the hell…can I buy you a cup of coffee or something?"

She smiled as she studied his face and nodded carefully, "Sure. Wait…you're not a serial killer are you?"

Nick couldn't help but laugh at that, "No, not anymore. I was for a while but it cut into my study time so I gave it up."

Without missing a beat Kat giggled and replied, "Well, that's good because I gave it up too. Now we have something in common to talk about."

"Oh, and we're both victims of gravity. That's two things in common." He stood up and held out a hand for her to help her up and motioned her to lead the way to the far side of the park. They chatted as they walked, Nick laughing and chasing after her as Kat skated circles around him, dancing out of his reach and then coming back to tease him more. When they reached the edge of the park Kat lead Nick to a quiet coffee shop near the park and sat herself at one of the tiny tables in the shade of the building. They ordered cups of coffee and suddenly they had nothing to talk about, each of them shifting uncomfortably as they wracked their brains for something to discuss.

"So…what do you do for a living?" Kat finally blurted out.

Nick looked down at the cup of coffee in front of him and Kat could almost see the sadness on his face. "Well, I'm kind of unemployed at the moment."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to rub any wounds there."

"No problem, it's not a big deal."

She couldn't help but be drawn into the deep well of his eyes. She could swear she almost saw the faint glimmer of his soul in there and it made her feel a little bit better about how she was actually deceiving him. "So, uh, what did you do? I mean before."

"Oh, well, I worked for a management company. You know like I was the gopher. The boss said jump and I did. How about you? What do you do?"

Kat blinked and sipped at her coffee to stall for time while she wracked her brain for an answer. She couldn't exactly tell him that she was one of Artemis' handmaidens. "Um…I'm an executive assistant."

Now it was Nick's turn to blink at her, "You're a secretary?"

"No, not quite. More like…well I do everything my boss needs me to do. You know, set up meetings, pick things up for her, that kind of thing."

Nick nodded and looked like he completely understood her, "Yup, sounds like my old job but with a woman boss. That must suck."

Kat burst out laughing, "Oh you have no idea!"


	10. Chapter 10

Zebulon paced the empty part of the warehouse cussing up a storm. He had sent Katra to investigate the change of Nick Gautier's time line nearly two weeks ago and she still hadn't reported back to him. It wasn't like it was a hard task, all she had to do was observe the boy to see if any time ripples had occurred and then tell him about them so he could correct them. He would have gone to New Orleans himself but he was currently busy keeping Atlantis hidden. He kicked a board on the floor sending it flying across the warehouse and narrowly missing a window. It wouldn't do to lose his temper or there would be hell to pay.

He took a deep breath and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and tried Katra's number one more time. As the phone rang and rang he began to lose patience with her for her lack of responsibility but then she answered, "Hello?"

"Katra," he growled. "What's your progress?"

"Oh hi ZT, I was just about to call you. He's fine, nothing is wrong with the changes."

"What?"

Kat smothered a giggle as if she were trying to wrestle with someone on her end of the line while talking to him. "I said he's fine. I've been watching him, hell, I've even talked with him and I see nothing wrong. Whatever she did doesn't seem to have any repercussions."

"I don't trust it. Keep watching him." ZT said roughly. Another smothered giggle came from her end of the line and his anger swelled briefly. "Get your head in the game Katra. Now is not the time to be slacking off."

"Right boss," she said calmly as the connection died.

OoOoOo

Nick grinned over the heaping plate of pasta at Kat who was busy stuffing another forkful of the delicious noodles in her mouth. He'd told her about this little Italian restaurant that Cherise had loved and her eyes had lit up with such enthusiasm that he couldn't help but bring her here. Seeing the delight on her face made the painful memories of his mother worthwhile. "You keep eating like that and you're going to explode," he joked as he reached for another bite of the noodles.

Kat nodded as she swallowed her food, "True but it'll be worth it. Why isn't this place packed to the rafters? The food is incredible."

"Because I kill everyone I bring here. That way they can't tell anyone and I can keep it all to myself." He watched as her eyes got wide and then chuckled at her surprise. "Kidding! I just don't ever tell anyone about this place." He glanced over at her and wondered what power it was that had put her in his path. He had never met any woman quite like her and for some reason he felt as if he'd known her his whole life.

She smiled at him as she put her fork down, "Phew, you had me worried for a second." She reached across the table and poured more wine into Nick's glass then more into her own and she studied his face intently. She could practically see the gears meshing in his brain as he looked at her and not in a platonic way. "So why aren't you happily married?"

Nick choked a little on the wine he had in his mouth, "Well that's a change of topic. Um, I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. Just curious I guess." She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was interested in her in a sexual way and she really didn't want to hurt him. She hadn't planned on their encounter going this far but she found his personality quite addictive so when he'd suggested dinner she'd happily said yes not expecting it to go any further. But the looks he was giving her told her that his mind was racing ahead to her waking up next to him and that wasn't going to happen. She was very much in love with someone else and nothing Nick Gautier said or did would change that.

He thought for a long moment, twirling his glass and watching the wine swirl around in it. "I suppose I never found the right woman you know?"

"Understandable, that's one of the hardest things in life to do."

"What about you? Have you found the right person yet?"

She lowered her eyes and he knew instantly what her answer was but let her speak anyway. "Yes I have. Definitely not who I was expecting but I'm not complaining." Her eyes danced nervously around the table and they both grew increasingly more uncomfortable. "She's out there Nick, you just have to find her."

Nick nodded slowly and glared at her, "So who are you really?"

"What? I'm not sure what you mean."

"Oh I think you do know exactly what I mean. You're not human, no matter how hard you try. You're not a were and you're not a hunter so that leaves either god or 'other'. Which is it?"

Kat took a sip of her wine to give herself a few seconds to formulate an answer. Nick obviously still had a little of the Dark Hunter powers he'd lost but the question was how much? "I'm not quite sure what you're talking about Nick."

He leaned across the table and the look in his eyes was nearly hostile. "Look Kat or whatever your name is, I've been around enough powerful beings in my day to be able to tell when one is sitting across from me. You're powerful enough that even a stupid human like myself can feel it. So why don't you cut the crap and tell me what you're doing here."

Kat's mind raced as she searched for an answer that wouldn't tip her hat to him. She really didn't want to have to explain to him what had been done to his mind but she also didn't think he deserved to be lied to. Finally she nodded once and glanced around to make sure they were alone. "Fine, I won't lie to you. I guess I fall into the 'other' category."

"And?"

"And, I'm here looking into some things for someone." He rolled his hands to get her to continue. She sighed and nodded, "I work for a being who is like a guard dog. He makes sure that other people's powers don't screw up the universe. Someone recently messed with some stuff and I was sent in to make sure that it's not a bad thing."

"And just what has this got to do with me?"

"Well, you may have been affected by the changes that were made and I was told to find out if that was the case."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and blinked at her a few times. "Okay so you're telling me what, exactly? That my head has been messed with?"

"No…nothing like that." She prayed that he didn't see the lie she'd just fed him. "Nick, I need to know if you've noticed anything strange around here recently."

She wasn't expecting him to answer her question much less burst out laughing but that's what he did. "Oh that's funny. You mean strange like the city flooding or like the vampires and werewolves that troll the streets?"

The absurdity of what he'd just said finally got to her too and she joined his laughter. "Okay you've got a point there. No, I mean more like anything that's not normal for this town. Anything really bizarre happening?"

Nick thought about it for a minute and shook his head, "I'm not the person you need to be asking about that. I've been kinda wrapped up in my own little slice of hell recently. If you really want to know what's going on around here, ask Tabitha Devereaux. She's got her finger firmly on the pulse of this city."

Kat nodded slowly and processed the information that he'd just given her. Either he truly didn't know anything was out of place or he was incredibly good at hiding it from her. "Devereaux huh? Any idea where I can find her?"


	11. Chapter 11

Tabitha and Phaedryn were sitting at a tiny table in a restaurant that was packed with tourists and other people whooping it up like it was Mardi Gras in full swing. The noise level hid their conversation from others and the number of people around them meant safety. No one would dare attack them here within sight of all these witnesses. Not that anyone that attacked them would have much of a chance of survival, but one never could be too careful.

"So still no idea about what this trouble brewing is?" Tabby asked as she sipped her soda.

Phaedryn shook her head no and looked down at the table. "No and Sav doesn't know either which is what scares me."

"You seeing anything anywhere else that could give us a clue?"

"Oh I'm seeing all kinds of bad but none of it makes any sense. Well, that's not true. It makes sense but not when you put it all together. It's like all of the biggest bad guys have joined forces and you know how that goes right?"

Tabitha nodded ruefully, "Like gasoline and a match. So what does Ash make of all this?"

"Nothing right now. He's with _her_." Tabitha's eyes went wide and she stared at Phaedryn in disbelief. She had an inkling of what Ash and Artemis' past consisted of so she was shocked at Phaedryn's letting her husband anywhere near the Greek goddess. Phae rolled her eyes at her friend's glare and waved her hand in dismissal of the tirade that was threatening to erupt from Tabitha. "It's not what you think Tab. Strictly business. He's trying to get some answers from the Greeks and the only way he can do it is through her."

"Have you at least gotten to threaten her?" Phae shook her head no. "Not even a little?"

"Nope. He won't let me. Said he'd talk to her and explain the situation to her. He knows her a whole lot better than I do so I'm trying it his way first."

Tabitha was about to respond when a statuesque blonde woman she'd never seen before walked up behind Phaedryn's chair and stared daggers at her. Tabitha could feel the energy pouring off the woman like it poured off Phaedryn now and she knew that this woman wasn't anyone to piss off. What shocked her more than the power she felt was the striking resemblance to a certain Atlantean god she knew.

"Tabitha Devereaux?" the woman asked.

"Yes, can I help you?" She watched as the woman glanced around nervously as if she wasn't comfortable around humans.

"I need to speak to you about some recent goings on. Privately if you don't mind," she said flicking a glance at Phaedryn's back.

"I think you can talk in front of me Katra," Phaedryn said as she turned in her chair to face the other woman. "After all, we're all on the same team." Katra's jaw slipped a little before she controlled her reaction to Phaedryn's presence. She hadn't sensed the other woman at all, and that fact scared her a little. She nodded carefully as she walked around the side of the table and sat between the two women. "Tabby, meet Katra Agrotera. Kat, Tabitha Devereaux." The two women nodded at each other and Kat shifted nervously in her seat. "So, what's on your mind Kat?"

"Uh…well, I'm trying to find out what's going on. I was told that Tabitha was the person to ask about strange things happening around here."

"That'd usually be right but at the moment I've got no clue. The Daimons are coming out of the woodwork and everyone's feeling like it's time to get out of town if you know what I mean." She was dying to ask either of the other women about the incredible coincidence of Kat's visage but she held her tongue. If Phaedryn wasn't saying anything then it was either a very sore subject or one that didn't need to be investigated further.

Katra kept glancing nervously about and finally Phaedryn said, "Why don't we go someplace a little more quiet to talk?" Katra nodded in agreement and Tabitha signaled for the check.


	12. Chapter 12

They settled themselves around Tabitha's living room in an uncomfortable silence. Tabitha didn't know what to make of the other two women who acted like a pair of sharks circling a tasty school of fish. One of them was going to strike first and the other was going to be left bleeding but she couldn't figure out which one was more powerful. "Okay, I know you two know each other somehow but I'm kind of in the dark here. Kat may I ask who you are?"

"Of course," she smiled at Tabitha trying to reassure the woman that she meant her no harm. "I work for some people that are concerned by the increasing number of Daimon attacks and other paranormal occurrences. Something is raising their hackles and I've been send to find out what it is and stop it."

"She is working for a group known as the Cthonians. Think of them like the rottweilers of the paranormal world. They guard the house and keep the bad guys off the lawn." Phaedryn said with a grin.

Kat nodded carefully, "That's one way of putting it. Another way is that they are the police force. When someone gets out of line they end the problem."

Tabby shot a questioning look at Phae, That wasn't at all what she'd meant by her question but she sensed that she wasn't going to get more of an explanation than that from them. "Is Ash a Cthonian?"

Phaedryn laughed at her friend's question, "No. The Cthonians are notoriously bad tempered. He does about the same job they do but with a bit more of a sense of humor." She noted that Kat's eyes went slightly wider at that description of Acheron and that raised more questions in her mind.

"You shouldn't joke around about them," Kat said with a slightly menacing tone in her voice. "They don't take kindly to teasing."

"No, I'm sure they don't." She said as she was thinking '_if she only knew the truth_'. "But they aren't here so I think we're okay for now. Kat, what exactly are you looking for? I've noticed the Daimon activity but I'm not seeing anything else. Enlighten me please." Phaedryn leaned back on the couch opening her posture to try to make the other woman relax.

"How about gallu?"

Phaedryn's eyes blinked rapidly and Tabitha looked back and forth between them waiting for one of them to tell her what the heck a gallu was. "Oh…" she said with a rush of breath.

"Yeah 'oh'. You see why they are concerned?"

Phaedryn nodded and quickly searched her memory for information on gallu. She knew what the demons were but she couldn't for the life of her remember how to stop them. Suddenly the memory came to her and she grinned. "Not a problem. Well not a big problem that is. They can be stopped with Charontes."

"Right and where do you propose we find more Charontes?" Kat asked. She knew where hundreds of the demons were but she didn't want to tip her hand.

Tabitha suddenly caught up with the conversation and grinned broadly at Phaedryn who nodded and grinned back. "Oh I think I know where we can find a few of them that would be willing to help."

OoOoOo

Late that night Phaedryn and Katra walked out of Tabitha's house together. They'd formed an uneasy truce between themselves but Phae couldn't put off asking Katra the questions that she needed answers to any longer. "Kat, can I ask you something?"

"I suppose, but I get to ask you something too."

"Fine, quid pro quo." She nodded and studied the younger woman's face intently. "Who are your parents?"

Kat's face fell and she hitched her breath, "Oh, that wasn't what I was expecting." She bit her lip and shoved her hands in the pockets of her jeans. "Would you believe me if I told you that I can't tell you?"

Phaedryn shook her head, "No. So I'll let you ask your question and I'll answer it as best I can. Show of good faith and all that."

"Fine. Are you really Savitar's sister?"

Phaedryn chuckled and grinned at the other woman, "Huh, and I thought you were going to ask something hard." She wandered a little farther down the walkway towards the street and Kat followed waiting for her answer. "I am a part of what he is. That's the best answer I can give you. If you look at it from the standpoint of we came from the same 'parent' then yes, I am."

"And who is that 'parent'?"

Phaedryn looked out of the corner of her eye at Kat, "That's more than one question. And I can't answer that anyway because there is not really a name for where we came from. Let's just say it's kind of the Big Brother of the universe. I can't really describe it better than that." She shrugged and tried to look confused about the whole thing since it wasn't really anything she or Savitar liked people to know.

"Fair enough. And I thank you, because I wasn't expecting a second answer." She took a deep breath and looked up at the night sky as if the stars could give her the means of explaining who her parents were. The secret had been so carefully guarded for so very long that it was an effort to even think of her parents as her parents. "Ah my parents right? Who do you think they are?"

"No fair asking a question to answer a question," Phaedryn joked. Then she arranged her expression back to a sober one and studied Kat's features. "I'm actually afraid to answer that because I don't think I'm going to like the answer."

Kat allowed her to study her face for a very long time before nodding once and saying, "My mother is Artemis and my father is…"

"Acheron," Phaedryn finished for her with a sigh. She had known the answer but it hurt her terribly to actually say it aloud as if it wasn't true before being spoken.

Kat blinked at her in wonder, "How did you know?"

"I've spent a very long time with his face etched in my memory. I think I know his features pretty well by now. You look a lot like him." She smiled carefully to try to reassure the other woman that she wasn't mad.

Katra still managed to look very suspicious of her and she phrased her next question carefully, "May I ask why you've had his face memorized all this time?"

Phaedryn could tell that the question was very defensive. Kat obviously didn't want her father to have any more enemies than he already did. She laughed softly and sighed, "Because he's my husband." Phaedryn watched the other woman's eyes widen to the point that she thought they were going to explode. "Yeah, I thought you'd be surprised. Not too many people know about that."

"You wouldn't want to explain that to me would you?"

Phaedryn nodded and said, "I suppose I owe you that. Let's see, way back in the day when Atlantis was still the height of civilization and your father was human we fell in love. Unfortunately your grandmother didn't like me too much so she killed me." She glanced over at Kat to see the look of surprise on the other woman's face.

"I know that she hasn't always been the nicest person, but that seems a bit much."

"Ah, so you know her huh?" Kat shrugged. "Okay, well remember that was back when she was still 'the Great Destroyer'. So she killed me and then a really long time passed and he and I finally found each other again so we got married."

"You know you really have to explain that better."

Now Phaedryn shrugged, "Some day. Now's not the time. So does he know about you?"

Kat's face fell and the sorrow showed in her eyes. "No. Mother kept me a secret from him for some reason known only to her. Hell, she didn't tell me who my father was for several centuries. I finally pestered her enough that she relented."

"Sounds like her. But I guess I can't blame her too much. It's better than what the alternative could have been. For me at least." She shot a glance at Kat who seemed to be following her train of thought. "Okay, well your secret is safe for a while longer."

"Seriously? You won't say anything to him about this?"

Phaedryn put a gentle hand on Kat's shoulder. "It's not my secret to tell, but you should be prepared for the shit storm that's gonna hit your mother when this comes out."

"Oh I've been preparing for it most of my life."


	13. Chapter 13

"Stop it Artie! I'm not here to play games with you. I've got important questions and I want answers."

The Greek goddess pouted and slumped over on her couch as if she were going to cry. "You always do this to me Acheron. Why? What have I done to deserve this?"

Acheron laughed from his perch on the railing of her temple, "You are so full of yourself it amazes me that you ever have time for me." He slid down off the railing and walked over to circle her couch. "I'm serious here Artie. There's a big problem and I need answers so pull your head out of the clouds and answer me."

"What will you do for me?" she purred as she lifted her head and reached out a hand to stroke his side. He shoved her hand away and glared at her. "Fine, what's the problem?"

"There's been a rash of violent Daimon attacks all over the world and several other nasty critters have been seen as well. What do you know about it?"

"Bah! Who cares if there are less humans to bother us? It's not like they are valuable to me." Acheron rolled his eyes and then glared harder at her. "You are infuriating, you know that? Fine, I don't know anything about the issue. Now let's talk about my problem."

"What problem? Since when do you have problems?"

Now Artemis glared at him, "You know that he's trying to kill me. That is unacceptable. You need to put him up."

"Put him down, and I'm not going to do it. Can you really blame Sin for hating you? You took his powers and made him helpless. Hell, I'd help him kill you if I didn't need you."

Artemis spun and looked critically up at his swirling silver eyes. "Would you really kill me?"

He knew that he wouldn't ever do it, even if he had the chance. As much as Artemis infuriated him, she had meant something to him long ago and very few people in his extremely long life had shown him any compassion so he treasured the ones that did. "Depends on the moment. You really don't know anything about what's going on?"

"No, I do not." She changed her face to a salacious grin and began sauntering towards him when a massive crash echoed through the hall from the other room. "What in Zeus's name was that?" Artemis was half way to the door of the room when it flew open and two of her handmaidens came tumbling in to crash in a heap of limbs on the floor. "What is the meaning of this?" Artemis shouted as she loomed over the two women on the floor.

"Forgive the intrusion Mistress. I tried to stop her but…" this came from the young woman on the top of the pile who seemed to be holding down the other one. The woman on the bottom of the pile shifted and rolled the other handmaiden off her as she stood up and faced Artemis.

"I've had enough of this garbage. You need to keep away from him!"

Ash was amused by this display and he stepped forward to pull Artemis off of the woman in front of her if the goddess flew off the handle. Artemis must have seen him coming forward because she stepped into his path to block him from the women. Unfortunately for her, it wasn't before he'd seen the one who was currently yelling at Artemis. His jaw dropped as he took in her features and who she so closely resembled. Artemis continued to move in front of him but he reached over and stopped her motion with a heavy hand to her shoulder.

"Who is she?" he asked breathlessly. He felt as if he'd just been hit in the chest by one of Zeus's lightning bolts.

Artemis turned and looked at him with horror on her face. She had been trying to keep this from happening for so long now and one simple thing had ruined her carefully guarded secret. "I…oh Acheron, I'm so sorry." She turned back to the two women and stabbed a finger towards the outer part of the temple. "Leave us!"

OoOoOo

It took her nearly three hours to explain it all to him. Acheron's temper was massive and there was no way she could explain the sudden appearance of his daughter without a huge argument as well. At first she thought he really was going to kill her because all he did was glare at her with his jaw clenched tight enough that she thought it would shatter. She was in tears by the time she finished the explanation and she collapsed into a sobbing heap at his feet.

He said nothing for a long time, stalking around the huge room occasionally shooting her a wicked glare. Eventually he sat with his head in his hands and took a deep breath, "May I speak with her?"

Artemis' head shot up and she looked at him with a stunned expression, "Of course. Do you forgive me?"

"No," he growled. "You really don't ever think of anyone but yourself do you?"

She really couldn't respond to that without admitting the truth so she simply rose from the floor and called Kat into the room. "I'll let you two talk," she said quietly as she backed out of the room.


	14. Chapter 14

Phaedryn had been working hard, between being mommy to a god-powered toddler all day and tracking down Daimons all night, she was ready for a break. It didn't take her long to decide to pop back into New Orleans for a while and go visit her old haunts at the zoo. It had been way too long since she'd been there to visit and she realized she was missing the life she'd had before all of this happened. Maybe if she could pretend just for a little while to be normal, all of the insanity of her current life would be easier to deal with. Xiovar immediately asked if he could come along and she happily agreed to the excursion.

OoOoOo

Nick leaned over the edge of the railing staring at the alligator below him. The massive creature was happily sunning itself and seemed not to have a care in the world. It blinked its eyes up at Nick who grinned at the animal. The gator was probably the only creature in town that hadn't been devastated by the flooding of the city.

He had come to the zoo to try to clear his head and so far the distraction was working. He really had thought that he had made a connection with Kat but it had turned out that she was never interested in him to begin with. That was pretty much the story of his life so far. All of the women he got interested in managed to fall in love with one of his other friends instead of him. He sighed loudly and leaned further over the railing to study the gator.

"Keep leaning like that and you're gonna be her lunch," a voice said from behind him.

Nick glanced over his shoulder to see a big grin on the face of the woman he'd met at Sanctuary. "Hey there…Alicia right?"

She nodded and leaned on the railing beside him also looking down at the big gator. "Good memory. How you doing Nick?"

"Better. Worse. Hell I don't know." He ran a gaze over her shirt and noted that the zoo's logo was on the breast of it. "Wow, you really do work here huh?"

"Nope, just stole the shirt actually." She'd flashed herself into a zoo uniform when she spotted him. She couldn't keep a straight face and burst out laughing at his confused look. "Yes I work here. So what brings you here today?"

"Just trying to make sense of my life you know?"

She nodded sagely, "No, not really, but if it works for you to stare at a huge gator while trying to sort things out, then go for it."

Nick grinned at her and turned away from the alligator's pen. "Okay, since you really do work here, are you gonna give me the guided tour?"

"Sure, I think I can do that."

OoOoOo

Two hours later they were sitting in one of the cafes laughing over stories Nick was telling about high school. Phaedryn had been carefully probing his mind all afternoon and she could find not a whit of anything wrong with the changes she'd made in his memory. They only thing she could find was an incredibly deep sense of loneliness.

She studied his face for a moment and he suddenly turned serious. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"No reason. Just trying to figure out the mystery of Nick Gautier."

He snorted, "Not much of a mystery here."

She shook her head at him, "Oh that's not true. I'm actually pretty good at reading people and there's something seriously bothering you. So spill."

Nick looked at her like he could see right through her for a moment and then nodded, "You know I don't make it a habit to open my guts up to relative strangers. Fine. Okay, have you ever thought that everything in your life was absolutely perfect and then have it all go to utter shit in a matter of seconds?"

"Oh you have no idea," she muttered.

"Yeah, okay I guess we've all had that happen. Anyway, I've been having a real bad stretch of luck and recently I thought it had all changed. I met this amazing woman and it all looked like roses and puppy dogs right?" He shivered a little as if he were cold. "So anyway I'm deep into this lady and thinking everything is wonderful when she tells me she's not interested in me. Not one bit. And once more everything comes crashing down around my ears. Why is that?"

"Why is what?"

"Why is it that keeps happening to me? I mean I know karma's a bitch but I'm not a bad person, I swear. Why can't anything, just for once, go right?"

Phaedryn smiled at him slyly as the ideas began forming in her mind, "Ya know Nick, if your luck has been that bad then it's bound to go right for a while. Something tells me you're gonna be the karmic jackpot winner for a while. And soon."


	15. Chapter 15

Acheron flashed himself into the throne room of Katoteros and crumpled into the massive golden chair. He still couldn't quite get over the shock of learning that not only did he have a daughter but that she happened to be in love with one of his dark hunters and no one had bothered to mention it to him before now. He actually found the whole thing highly amusing because he knew how much it pissed Artemis off. Katra had informed her parents that she'd fallen in love with Sin who would be utterly ecstatic if he could choke the life out of Artemis for stealing his god powers from him. Artemis of course, overreacted to this news and ordered Ash to kill Sin immediately which made Kat explode with anger and Ash just laugh.

Still chuckling to himself over her hysterical reaction to the whole fiasco he picked up his guitar and strummed at it for a while, not actually playing anything, just letting his fingers go where they would.

Eventually Alexion came wandering through the room and he paused to watch his friend as he sat and played. "You look like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders Boss. Well, I mean more so than usual."

Acheron glanced up at Alexion and grinned, "Yeah I guess I do. Sit for a minute will you?"

Alexion arranged his tall frame on the smaller throne beside the main dais and waited patiently for the Atlantean to say whatever was on his mind. Eventually Ash cleared his throat and shrugged, "What would you say if I told you I had a daughter?"

Alexion looked confused, "Uh Boss, I've known about that for a while now."

"No, I don't mean Nea. Seems I have another daughter. Just found out about her this afternoon." Alexion's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. "Yeah, that was about my reaction as well. Artemis has been hiding her from me all this time."

"Wait…Artemis is the girl's mother? You're kidding right?"

Ash pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers, "Unfortunately I'm not."

"But…how could that be? I thought you were sterile until Phaedryn came back."

"Well, apparently it happened right after Apollo killed me. I guess I still had enough of my humanity to reproduce."

Alexion got up from the chair and paced around the room in front of Ash. "And she never told you about this?"

"Ias, after all this time and all of the things I've told you about Artemis, does any of this really surprise you?"

The other man shook his head slowly, "No, I guess it doesn't. So, what's she like? Have you met her?"

"Yeah, I've met her. Looks just like me. Got my sense of humor too. She's quite a woman."

Alexion came back to the chair and stared at his friend, "If she's your daughter then she doesn't have much of a choice but to be quite a woman." He stopped for a moment and looked across the room at the hallway that led to the nursery. "One problem though. How are you going to tell Phaedryn?"

"Yeah, that is a problem now isn't it? I guess I tell her the truth. I can heap that little piece of knowledge on her right after I tell her that my daughter is in love with one of my dark hunters, even if she doesn't realize it yet."

Alexion laughed nervously, "Oh this just keeps getting better and better."

"You're telling me?"

OoOoOo

Phaedryn set her plan in motion after she'd left the zoo. She sent Xiovar back home and flashed herself off to Paris for her meeting with the local hunters. Ash was finally allowing her to fully help out with all of the recent Daimon attacks and they were seeing a decline in the activity but it was still more than it should be. Plus with the news that the gallu were back in business, she was extra anxious to knock out the lesser problems.

Setting her mind to other tasks she stretched out her mental consciousness and searched the world for what she knew would be the answer to Nick's problems. The perfect woman for him was out there somewhere. She just needed to be found. And if anyone could find her it was Phaedryn.


	16. Chapter 16

Acheron flopped down on the massive bed in his room and tried to fall asleep. He had so much going through his brain right now that he could no longer process it all. He figured that if he slept for a while, his brain may straighten everything out and things would make sense to him again.

He lay on the bed staring at the ceiling for what felt like an hour before he gave up trying to sleep and just let the thoughts carouse in his head unchecked. So many things had happened. He had a grown daughter and she was amazing. And Artemis not bothering to tell him about her for nearly eleven thousand years was just the icing on the cake. How he wished that he could have been a part of her life as she grew up.

He was lost in wondering what she had been like as a child when Phaedryn tiptoed into the room. "Oh, I thought you were asleep."

"Nope. Tried. Failed."

"What's on your mind Sati?" she said as she stripped the boots off her feet and crawled onto the bed.

"Nothing, how was your night?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her across the bed to him.

She studied his face and knew that he was avoiding telling her what he was thinking. "Fine I guess. Don't change the subject on me. What's going on Ash?"

He looked into her eyes and knew that she could tell he was hiding something. Sighing in resignation he shook his head at her, "You just know me too well. Fine, I found out something today that you're probably not going to like." She said nothing and waited for him to finish. "I found out that I have a child."

He was surprised that she said nothing, her face carefully blank. He couldn't read any feelings from her either and that worried him more than her silence. Finally she swallowed loudly and said, "I see. Could you explain that to me?"

"I wish I could but it's really complicated." Seeing the slight glint of anger in her eyes he nodded, "Okay then. Apparently Artemis bore me a child that I knew nothing about until this afternoon." He waited for her to explode in a rage but she just stared at him, blinking slowly as he shrugged at her. "Are you angry?"

"Why should I be angry?"

"Phae, I just told you that another woman bore my child. A woman, may I add, that you currently hate nearly as much as my mother."

"Ash, did you know between the last time you saw me in Atlantis until last year that I was alive?" He shook his head no while the confusion on his face twisted his features. "Right, so why should I blame you for living your life?"

"You're really not mad about this? I mean I'm mad as hell but that's to be expected."

"I'm not mad." She smiled lovingly at him and then let slip her own secret. "Besides, she's a really great person."

Ash's eyes went wide as he gaped at her, "You knew?"

Phaedryn nodded carefully as she looked at him feeling sheepish. "Yes, but not for very long. We met by chance a while back and…well she looks so much like you it's hard not to figure it out."

Ash looked frustrated and she winced a little as he rolled up off the bed, "Did everyone but me know that she was my child? My mother knew, Simi knew, you knew. Why was I the only person that had no clue?" He paced across the room and then spun back to look at her, "Never mind, don't answer that. Simi told me why everyone kept it a secret and I think I understand. It just hurts so much knowing that I missed her growing up."

Phaedryn nodded and patted the bed to get him to sit back down. Once he had she wrapped a loving arm around him and pulled his head down to cradle on her chest. "I know it's not the same thing Sati, but you still have Nea to watch grow. And there's now nothing in the universe to stop you and Kat from being a family."

He looked up at her and lost himself in the depths of her eyes as he fell into a deep satisfied sleep.


	17. Chapter 17

When Ash woke the next morning he was alone in the bed, which made him a little sad but also gave him the opportunity he needed. He rose from the bed and wandered down the hallway to the nursery where Danger was sitting on the floor playing with Nea.

"Morning Danger. Is Phae around?"

She shook her head no and got up from the floor, "Nope, she took off this morning. Said something about Nick and then she was gone so I have no clue what she's up to."

He nodded sadly. Nick had once been his closest friend but a serious misunderstanding between them had cause a rift that would probably never heal. At least Nick wasn't still dead. Phae had fixed that little error of judgment and Nick was none the wiser. However, he still knew that he was mad at Ash for allowing Cherise to die. If only he could have saved her, his life would make so much more sense.

Nea toddled over and wrapped herself around his leg giggling as he looked down at her. He reached down and picked her up to kiss her then tossed her into the air making her squeal with laughter. "How is my angel this morning?" he asked even though she wasn't completely talking yet.

Nea wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his hair still giggling. Then she leaned back and placed a sloppy kiss on his cheek, which made his heart swell. If only he'd been able to do this with Kat when she was a baby. He sighed in regret but knew that he should enjoy this experience with Nea. Nea's sticky hands patted his cheek and he grinned at her, "You wanna go see Yana today sweetheart?"

"Ah na!" the little girl gurgled.

"Yeah, me too. Did she eat yet Danger?"

"She sure did," she smiled as she watched Ash with his daughter. She knew the full extent of his destiny now and exactly what he was capable of, so it thrilled her to see how gentle he was with the little girl. Of course, Nea was incredibly powerful too; she just didn't know it yet.

"Okay, well if Phae comes home before I get back, tell her where we went okay?"

"Will do boss."

OoOoOo

Ash arrived in Kalosis to find the throne room empty. That wasn't unusual but it surprised him that no one reacted to his arrival. "Metera?" he called as he walked towards the hallway that led to her garden. If she wasn't here in the throne room it was a safe bet that he'd find her in the garden.

He was halfway down the hallway when one of Apollymi's Charonte demons swooped down the hallway in front of him, blocking his path. Nea glared at the strange Charonte and suddenly the creature vanished. Ash wondered what had happened when Nea chuckled a little and made a sound that reminded him of very surprised 'heh'. He looked down at his daughter who was blinking up at him, "You're gonna be quite a force to be reckoned with little one. Guess we'd better start working on that soon huh?"

They made their way out to the garden with out any further harassment. They found Apollymi sitting on a chaise surrounded by multitudes of flowers that grew nowhere else but here. The goddess looked up and smiled as she saw not only her son but her granddaughter as well. "Hello M'gios, Gapi. What brings you to visit?"

"No reason. Just thought you'd like to spend some time with your granddaughter." He waited to see if she'd give any reaction that there was someone else that fit that description but of course her face was blank. He handed Nea over to his mother and wandered around the garden looking at the flowers as Apollymi chatted happily with Akrinea. Eventually he circled back around to face his mother and he looked down at her sadly, "Why didn't you tell me about Katra?"

Suddenly Apollymi's face fell, as she was overwhelmed with sadness, "Oh M'gios. How I wish I could have told you." She patted the chaise next to her and waited for him to sit. "When did the Greek tell you?"

"Yesterday. Damn it metera, eleven thousand years and I never knew. You really should have told me. I missed her whole life."

The sadness on his face was enough to make Apollymi's heart ache as well. She knew exactly what he was feeling because she'd never been able to be a part of his life either. "You can still be a part of her life you know. She is still young and so are you." She took a deep breath and studied his face, "She is so much like you. She was my link to you all this time. I simply wish we could have all been a family."

"I think we can do that now that…well, now that you and I being in the same room won't end the world."

"Which totally ruins my fun," she said with a wicked grin. "Relax, I have accepted that I will never see my destiny fulfilled. Besides, there's still hope that my Gapi can take my place."

Ash looked at her with near panic in his eyes, "Mother! Don't even think about it!"

Apollymi laughed deeply, "Oh the look on your face is priceless my darling."


	18. Chapter 18

Phaedryn strode along the busy street looking as if she were simply window-shopping but she was actually tailing someone. She had found the young woman late in the middle of the night after searching for her for a long time. She was young, barely 27, and very pretty in a pure sort of way. Her auburn hair fell in soft waves just past her shoulders and she had a brilliant smile. Now all that needed to happen was Phaedryn had to convince her to go to New Orleans and fall in love with Nick. Smiling to herself she realized that really wouldn't be a problem and she chided herself for still thinking like a human. Of course, she'd been a human for eleven thousand years so it was kind of hard not to think like one.

The woman ahead of her turned into a large store and Phaedryn carefully followed. It wouldn't do for the woman to notice her. If she did she may remember Phaedryn's face and that could come back to haunt her later on. No, the plan was to gently persuade the woman to fall into Nick's path and neither of them ever be the wiser of the manipulations. Because she was still sort of new using her goddess powers she wasn't quite sure how to go about doing this but she certainly couldn't ask anyone for their help.

She resigned herself to the matter at hand and gently reached out her mind to touch the other woman's. The girl, Lisa, was a very simple person but extremely intelligent and she seemed to enjoy life. Phaedryn smiled and knew that she really was the perfect woman for Nick.

OoOoOo

Ash was delighting in the private time he got to spend with his mother and daughter when suddenly there was a wave of hissing coming from the edges of the garden. The Charonte guards were upset about something and he craned his head up over the tops of the flowers to see what the commotion was about.

"Relax you two, it's all right, let her in." Apollymi commanded in a firm voice.

Ash suddenly saw a flash of blonde hair and he suddenly realized who was coming across the garden, Katra. He rose from the chaise eagerly and strode towards her.

"Hi Dad. Wasn't expecting to see you again so soon." Kat said as they met on the edge of the garden.

"Same here. So what's going on?"

"Nothing much, just thought I'd come visit grandma for a while." Kat stifled a giggle as Apollymi winced at being reminded that she was a grandmother. She glanced around his shoulder at where Apollymi was sitting and wondered what was making her father edgy.

"Kat, there's something I need to tell you." He knew that she knew about Phaedryn but he didn't think anyone had told her about her half sister. "I know you've met Phaedryn but there's someone else you need to meet." Kat looked confused and followed him over to her grandmother who was happily bouncing a small child on her lap. "Katra, I'd like you to meet your half sister, Akrinea."

Kat's face shone as she beamed at the little girl on her grandmother's lap, "Wow, you sure work fast Dad. She's beautiful, just like her mother."

Ash nodded slowly, "Yes, both of my daughters are incredibly beautiful."

"Good genes," Apollymi muttered as she basked in the happiness of her family.

Ash shot a confused glance at his mother as Kat laughed at her comment. "Well, you come from a good looking family M'gios, it's only proper that your offspring are attractive as well."

Everyone got a good laugh at Apollymi's comment and Kat reached over and hugged her father. "Can I hold her?" she asked looking at her grandmother.

"Of course agria," Apollymi said as she passed the toddler to her. Nea grinned her newly fanged grin at Kat and Ash watched as they faced each other for the first time.

"Oh she's so cute! Fangs too huh? I didn't see any on Phaedryn when I met her."

Ash shook his head, "No she still looked mostly human. She was born Atlantean though, so she's got the standard extra bits."

Kat cocked her head at him in question, "What extra bits? I don't have any extra bits."

Apparently Apollymi had never shown Kat her true Atlantean form. The goddess looked amused and nodded at her son, "Show her."

Ash nodded and allowed himself to revert to his natural form. His skin mottled and darkened to a deep blue marbled color and his hair bled from its current blue hue to its natural human white blonde color and then on to jet black. Kat gasped a little as he opened his eyes and they were no longer the swirling silver but a glowing blood red color. As the horns appeared from his head she shook her head in wonder.

"Whoa, I never knew."

"Not many do," he growled in a deeper much more menacing voice. "Atlanteans all looked like this. We had many colors but we all looked very 'demonic'. The rest of the humans feared us to be the demons we resembled so we hid our true nature from them. After so long of pretending to be a human it is now almost as natural as my true form is."

"So do you look like this too Grandma?" Apollymi nodded and allowed herself to change to her natural form as well. "Okay, so why don't I look like that? I'm half Atlantean."

"Exactly, you are only half," Ash said as he reverted to his human guise. "Only a full blooded Atlantean looks as we do."

"Okay, so Phaedryn looks like you guys too?"

"Yes, but her coloring is more reddish. That's why Nea has fangs, she's full blooded Atlantean."

"Then why doesn't she look like a demon? I mean she's way too cute for anyone to mistake her as a creature of the netherworld."

Ash shrugged and looked at his mother for an answer. The goddess said nothing so he commented; "Perhaps because Phae was still human when we conceived Nea it's overpowering the Atlantean form. Or maybe she hasn't found her natural state yet. We really don't know and there's no one around to tell us so we're kind of playing it by ear."

"Well, I actually need to get to the point of my visit," Kat said sadly. "As much as I'd love to sit around chatting all day I can't. Grandma, I need to know if I can borrow some of your Charonte."

Apollymi shot her glance over at Kat and there was a brief flash of panic on her face, "They can't leave here or they will devastate the humans. As much as I would enjoy seeing that, I'm not going to allow it unless it's my doing. So no, you may not take them. Why do you ask me this?"

"Sin said that the gallu are massing in the desert and we need something that can seriously combat them. That's what Charonte are for so I thought I'd ask."

Ash looked back and forth between the two women, "Metera can't give you any Charonte, but I certainly can."


	19. Chapter 19

"You'd do that?" Kat asked cautiously. She didn't want to anger her grandmother if she could help it. The goddess may not have any of her powers left but she still had her massive temper.

"Of course he'll do it. And his Charonte are much more suited for the task. As much as it annoys me to know how he's tamed them, they are capable of being amongst the humans so they are the ones for the job."

"Fabulous! I'll tell Sin and we can coordinate plans." She grinned and hugged her grandmother before turning back to Ash. "Thank you daddy. Will you come too?"

"I can't baby. I owe some time to your mother and as much as it pisses me off to have to say this, I do owe her." Apollymi cleared her throat and took Akrinea from her father, walking the little girl away from them so they could have a moment of privacy.

"You two can't ever get along can you?" her tone was angry but careful. "I don't understand what your issues are but you really ought to try, you know?"

Ash put an arm around her shoulders and they walked in the opposite direction Apollymi had gone. "Baby, as much as I'd like to be able to get along with your mother, you have to understand what she's done to me over the years. No one should ever have to be treated like she treated me. And now knowing that she kept you from me all this time, that's just one more thing I hate her for."

"Now I see where I get my stubbornness from," Kat joked in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Does she know about Phaedryn or Nea?"

"No," he said carefully. "I've told her that I won't sleep with her any more but not why. I have a bad feeling if she knew that I'd married Phaedryn she'd punish me just that much more."

Kat looked sad and nodded, "Yeah, she probably would. You can't keep it from her forever you know. She'll find out about her eventually."

"I know. I was just thinking about keeping it a secret from her for eleven thousand years or so." His wicked grin told her that he was joking but the amount of seriousness in his tone made her wonder.

OoOoOo

Phaedryn finished her task and flashed herself back to Katoteros with a sense of satisfaction. Se strode through the hallways looking for the residents of the realms and found no one but the pterygsauras. "Danger? Lex? Anyone home?" she called as she headed for the kitchen.

She finally found Danger and Alexion at the huge kitchen table laughing as they played cards. Danger had been trying to teach Alexion the intricacies of Texas Hold 'Em and the man was having a difficult time of it. "Hey you two. What's happening?" Phae said as she sat down between them.

"Oh nothing really, just playing around," Alexion answered as he pondered his cards.

"So where's everyone else at?"

Danger answered, "Simi and Xirena are in Simi's room buying things. Xiovar's at Tabby's watching a movie and Ash took Nea to Kalosis to visit."

"Huh, I feel kinda left out. Well, deal me in next hand will ya?"

OoOoOo

Acheron found them several hours later, open bags of potato chips strewn across the table and several bottles of wine set neatly to the side of the table. He laughed loudly as he walked in to see them, still playing cards, intense looks of concentration on their faces. "Well isn't this a sight?"

"Hey boss, glad you're back. Want in on the next hand?" Alexion asked, sliding a bag of chips aside so the Atlantean could sit down.

"No, I'm not here long. Sati can I have a word with you?"

Phaedryn nodded and rose from the table following him down the hall to their bedroom. "What's going on babe?"

"Nothing, well nothing out of the ordinary, that is. I went to visit with my mother and ran into Katra there. She and Sin need some help and I volunteered the Charonte to lend a hand. Is it okay if I send Xiovar too?"

She chewed her lip for a moment and nodded weakly, "I guess so. How long will they be gone?"

"I don't really know. Depends on how hard it is for them to clear out the gallu and make sure the Dimme don't escape. Why?"

Phaedryn paced nervously around the room, "Maybe that's the big bad that Savitar found." Ash looked at her in confusion. "Oh, Sav's been telling me that something big is on the way and that he's worried about Nea being it's target. I told him I'd step up protection on her and Xiovar is part of that protection. Is there any other way to do this?"

Ash shook his head once, "No, Charonte are the best thing to stop gallu. It's what they were created for. The Charonte we send need to be able to blend with humans and that means ours not Apollymi's." He paused a moment and looked critically at her, "What if we put Nea in Kalosis? No one would touch her there."

Phaedryn's eyes went wide for a moment and then she controlled her expression, "I don't think so Sati. Not now. Not yet."

"Phae, she'll be safe there. My mother has no power left and she would never harm her grandchild. The only place safer than there is here."

"Ash, she killed me. I have a right to mistrust her. No, I'm sorry." She really wasn't that sorry about telling him no, after all, the circumstances should be explanation enough. "Wait, what about Savitar? He could take care of her for a while."

Acheron shook his head, "You don't seriously think he'd be willing to stop surfing long enough to care for a toddler do you?"

Phaedryn looked exasperated after she realized what she was suggesting. "You're right, he'll never do it. Damn it. Won't she be safe enough here?"

He walked over to where she was standing and slid his arms around her waist, "She's safe now but if the Dimme get loose then no where is safe for her. Not even Kalosis. As much as I'd like her to be safest here, I'd rather she be where an army of Charonte can protect her."

She sighed loudly as she turned to look into his eyes, "Fine, take her to your mother. But I get to say I told you so if your mother steals her powers back and we have to stop her from destroying the world."


	20. Chapter 20

Acheron appeared in the outer courtyard of Artemis' temple on Olympus. He grinned inwardly as her koris scattered in the wake of his arrival. They'd always been taught never to look at him and to vanish from the temple as soon as he arrived. Now he knew why they had been taught that with the revelation that one of them had been his daughter. It amused him that they still scattered even though the secret was out in the open.

He found the goddess in her usual spot in the throne room of her temple, lounging about like nothing was amiss. "I was beginning to wonder when you would return. You are very late." She purred as she rose from the couch and stalked across the marble floor towards him.

"I had some things to take care of. You know I gave my word." He winced as she raked her nails across his suddenly bare back. She hated for him to be clothed while he was here and she was quite adept at flashing his clothing off as soon as he arrived. He could always undo what she did to him but she liked to be superior in her own territory so he allowed her to think she was.

"I've been thinking…" she continued circling him, eyeing him like a prize bull.

"Well, that's never a good sign."

"Very funny. Seriously Acheron, now that you know about your daughter I see no reason that you can't stay here with me all the time. After all we are a family now."

He batted her hand away and laughed at her, "Oh that's just hilarious Artie. And by the way it'll never happen."

She stamped her foot and clenched her fists at her sides acting like a petulant child, "Well why not?"

"Because you'd never allow me to go do what I needed to do, for one. I have a lot of things that need to be tended to and I can't do that when I'm being held prisoner here. You know that already."

"Oh those stupid hunters of yours can look after themselves!" He raised an eyebrow at her and shook his head once. "You don't love me anymore!"

Ash's laughter boomed out across the temple, echoing against the stone walls, "Oh that's funny! I hate to burst your bubble Artie but I haven't loved you in a very, very long time. You're kidding yourself if you think otherwise."

Her tone changed instantly from angry to sulky, "Why don't you love me anymore? You used to. We used to love each other so much. What happened?"

He shrugged at her and walked out to the balcony that overlooked a lush forest, "Times change. People change. You hurt me one too many times." He let his voice trail off before he said anything else to her.

"What else?" she asked as she draped herself over his side. "You're not telling me everything."

"No, I'm not and there's a good reason for it." She huffed at him and tapped her foot. "Fine, you asked for it. How much do you know about my life before you met me?"

She leaned against the railing and looked up at him with a cautious air, "I know that your uncle abused you terribly. Why?"

"Artie, there's a lot more to it than that. When I was human, before Estes took me away, I was happy. I met a girl that I fell deeply in love with. It's kind of complicated to explain it all so I'll just say that my mother killed her to spite me. What my mother didn't know is that she was Savitar's sister and she was put in my path for a reason." Artemis said nothing but her eyes were wide with surprise. "Well, Savitar has been reincarnating her ever since my mother killed her and we finally found each other again."

"I see," now the look on her face was more sadness than surprise.

"No you don't see Artie. She is the person I was destined to love. And I do. I married her a while back and we have a child now. That is why I won't sleep with you anymore." He took a deep breath before saying what he desperately needed to, "Artie, I finally have the love I've been looking for all this time. The love you never gave me. And I will _never_ give it up."

A single crystal tear slid down Artemis cheek and she turned her head away from him so that he wouldn't see her loss of control. She felt the sadness threatening to overwhelm her so she flashed herself out of the temple leaving Acheron alone.

He was still sitting there alone several hours later when Katra arrived looking pissed. He chuckled at her expression and wandered over to where she stood, "What's the matter honey?"

"Oh don't talk to me now. I currently hate all members of the male species."

Knowing that if she really wanted to talk to him she'd come find him, he shrugged and returned to where he had been sitting on the railing of the balcony. Eventually she did come to him and they talked for a long time. She told him about how Sin had found out about how she had facilitated Artemis taking his powers from him and how she thought that he now hated her for it. Ash consoled her and explained to her that if Fate meant for them to be together that Sin would forgive her.

Eventually she smiled and nodded to let him know that she knew he was right. "Thank you dad. Where's mom at?"

He lowered his eyes to his chest and said, "I'm not sure. She got a little upset at me and left."

"Why'd she get upset at you?" Kat asked carefully. When her father looked up at her with a deep sadness in his eyes she knew the answer. "You told her about Phaedryn didn't you?" He nodded once and she sighed, "Well that's not good. I mean I know you had to tell her eventually but…well that's just asking for a headache for everyone." She sighed again and he followed her lead. "Well, she'll just have to get over it. Right now we've got bigger problems. Sin said that the gallu are massing for an all out assault on humanity. Some guy named Kessar is pulling their strings and he's really gunning for the Dimme to be released. Can you send Simi and her sister out to Vegas?"

"Not a problem. They will be there. And Kat, if you really need my help, call me. Your mother won't release me unless it's a very desperate situation and I think your being in trouble would fit that." He hugged her cautiously and kissed her on top of the head. "Be careful."


	21. Chapter 21

Nick Gautier felt an urge to be anywhere but in New Orleans. He'd even called Otto Carvaletti and asked him if he could come to Seattle to visit. Otto said that it was a bad time and offered Nick a chance to visit in a few weeks. Nick thanked the other man and declined. No, he needed to get out of town right now. It wasn't a bad feeling he had, just a strange urge. Besides, it's not like there was anything in town keeping him here. His mother was gone, he had no job and no commitments, and he certainly had enough money saved from being Kyrian's squire.

Making up his mind he booted up his computer and started looking for someplace fun to go. After about ten minutes of looking at pictures of hotels and attractions he'd booked himself a room and flight to Las Vegas. He'd never had a change to go there before so there seemed like no better time. And Vegas was definitely a town that he could forget his troubles in.

OoOoOo

Simi and Xirena appeared in Sin's hotel room and found he and Kat locked in a very compromising position much to Simi's disgust. After the couple had detangled themselves they all settled around the bar to discuss their plan of attack. Sin was very skeptical that the two female demons could be much of an asset but Kat reassured him several times that they were a lot more powerful than he imagined. As if to illustrate her point yet another demon appeared in the middle of the room and both of the girls bristled and crouched to attack before they determined that the newcomer was Xiovar in his human form and not a gallu or other threat.

"Great, now I've got three demons. We might last for five whole minutes." Sin groused.

Xiovar curled his lip in disgust, "If he is going to act like this, then let him get eaten."

Kat hadn't met this new Charonte and she questioned Simi quietly. Simi however, did not feel a need to be quiet and happily told Kat that Xiovar belonged to his akra. "And who would his akra be Sim?" Kat asked eyeing Xiovar warily, remembering what Apollymi had recently said of her own Charonte.

"I am bound to Phaedryn," he said with a bow to Kat. "You are the cursed god's daughter yes?"

Sin looked terribly confused by all of this and he tapped Kat on the shoulder looking for an explanation. "Yes Xiovar, I am Acheron's daughter. Sin, it's all right, Xiovar belongs to my step mother."

"Your what?" the surprise in his voice was nearly comical.

Kat rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm motioning for the Charontes to follow her, "Never mind, let's go kick some ass."

OoOoOo

Nick's plane landed in the middle of the afternoon and he was immediately assaulted by the massing crowds in the airport. Being an old pro at Mardi Gras, he shifted and moved with the crowd on the way to the baggage pick up. Once he'd retrieved his suitcase he shuffled off to the long line of people waiting for transport to the Strip. As he moved forward he studied the people around him, finding a great deal of amusement at the various types of characters he saw. He'd barely made it to the front of the line when he was shoved into a cab and whisked off towards the strip. He paid the driver at the lush drop off area of the Luxor and he worked his way into the lobby.

He was astounded by the massive stone archway and Egyptian themed statues in front of him, and he reveled in the sheer audacity of the hotel. A steady roar of noise came at him from ahead, obviously that was where the casino was located. He worked his way over to the front desk of the hotel and waited patiently for his turn, watching the people wander by and studying the sights of the hotel. He could see that there was a second floor open above the main entrance where there were restaurants and other places to spend the money you'd just won in the casino. What impressed him even more was that he could see all the way to the top of the hotel through the inside of the pyramid.

Eventually he got his room key and made his way towards the elevators, no, they were called 'inclinators' for some crazy reason. There was a line to get on one and he let a group of blue haired retired ladies with matching t-shirts get on one before him. Eventually he got into a car and was amused when it began going upwards at an angle. He had enough presence of mind to shift his weight to one side to keep from toppling over but the woman next to him didn't and she leaned sharply to her side nearly bowling him over.

"Oh! I'm so sorry." She smiled at him as she righted herself.

"No problem." Nick grinned back as he helped her lean back upright. A few seconds later the 'inclinator' stopped and let some other people off. Once more it lurched sideways and the young woman crashed into him again.

They both laughed as she righted herself again. "Three or four more stops and I'll get the hang of it."

Nick chuckled, "Yeah, but I'll be black and blue by then. Pretend you're surfing." She blinked at him and glanced down at his feet. "Okay, not a surfer. Put your weight on the foot that's downhill."

She shifted her weight and nodded at him, "Yup, that's the trick. Sorry I bruised you."

Nick shrugged and looked to see what floor they were near, "Not a problem, I've gotten a lot worse." He shot a quick glance at the young woman and saw that she was quite attractive, not painfully skinny like most women wanted to be, but rather natural and sensual. Her hair was a rich auburn color that picked up the light in the elevator and made it glow like a ruby. He ran his gaze appreciatively down her chest and saw a generous amount of cleavage under the ripped neckline of her t-shirt. Unfortunately that was the exact moment that she happened to catch him looking. He shot his gaze back up to her face and she actually blushed which delighted him. "Oh, sorry…" he sputtered. "I was just noticing your t-shirt."

She took the feeble excuse and turned to face him holding out the bottom hem of her shirt. "Like it?"

He nodded dumbly, "Yeah, but I have no idea what that means. Stiff kittens?"

Her laugh was musical and infectious, "Not a Blaqk Audio fan then huh?" When he didn't respond either way she elaborated. "It's a band. Stiff Kittens is their song."

"Oh, I see." Nick nodded and grinned. "No…no I don't see. What're they like?"

"Hmm, well…think like Depeche Mode with some punk added in."

"Interesting. I'll have to check them out sometime." He was still grinning dumbly at her when the elevator stopped and he realized it was his floor. Apparently it was her floor too because they both tried to squeeze out of the door at the same time. "Oh well, so much for my feeble attempt at not being a dork."

She stopped in her tracks and looked up at him with shock, "Not possible. You very obviously do not possess the dork gene."

They continued walking down the short hallway that the elevators were in and he rolled his eyes at her, "You may be surprised. It's a recessive gene after all and it hides well."

When they got to the main hallway the stopped again and she studied the signs indicating what rooms were where. "Well, I'm that way," she said pointing.

Nick glanced at the sign and smiled, "Seems we're in it for the long haul. So what brings you to Vegas?"

"Here for a wedding," she said without thinking. "Oh, not me. My friends are getting married here. What are you in town for?"

"Never been here, thought I'd give it a whirl." The walked along the long hallway that was open to the casino below and marveled at the sights in the hotel. There was a huge mock up of an obelisk and Egyptian city on top of the platform that was raised up over the casino and there were hundreds of people milling about. Nick stopped and leaned over the railing looking down at the lobby floor below and grinning, "Quite a view from up here."

The girl leaned over a little but didn't go much farther than where she stood on the inside of the walkway, "No thank you. Afraid of heights."

"Ah, good thing you're not staying in the Stratosphere then huh?"

"Yup, I planned ahead. Oh, this is me here. Well, you enjoy yourself."

Nick hesitated a moment and then thought better of it. If she didn't want to give him her name or any more information then she obviously wasn't interested in him so he just nodded and walked down the hallway to his own room.


	22. Chapter 22

Apollymi was the happiest she'd been in thousands of years. It wasn't what anyone expected of a goddess known as the Great Destroyer but she couldn't help it. Her granddaughter's laugh and smile were contagious and they made her feel more alive than she had since Atlantis had been the height of civilization. When Acheron had asked her to tend to the little girl she had jumped at the chance. She'd been denied the joy of seeing her son as a baby and she'd even missed out on Katra's youth. Now she had a chance to find out what she'd missed.

Once Ash had advised her that he was bringing Nea to her because he was worried about her safety, there was no hesitation at all. "She will be quite safe here with me M'gios. Of that I have no doubt."

"I know that Metera, but I'm still worried. Savitar has said that this threat is very lethal and he thinks it may be targeting Nea."

"Bah, what does he know? There is nothing that would dare come through an army of Charonte _and_ me."

Ash still looked deeply concerned, "Perhaps two years ago that would be true mother, but now you have no power."

Apollymi hitched her breath and nodded sadly, "That is true, but who other than you and I knows this? I have quite a reputation that was very well founded. No one will attempt to harm my granddaughter in my own home." She reached out her arms to scoop up the little girl who was happily toddling towards her. Picking her up and kissing her on the cheek she shot a wicked glance at her son, "I may not have any power now but I certainly can fight to save my family. Don't ever doubt that."

Now she was enjoying watching the girl run about in her garden. Nea seemed to enjoy the flowers as she spent a lot of time studying them and smelling their rich perfume. Apollymi had placed several Charonte around the perimeter of the garden, not only to protect the little girl, but to keep her from wandering off again. Not long after Acheron had left they were in the throne room of Kalosis and Apollymi hadn't been worried about Nea's safety. When she'd looked up shortly afterwards the girl had vanished from sight. Apollymi had panicked and searched the room frantically calling for Xedrix and Sabine to help her when Nea came toddling back down the hallway completely unaware of the panic she'd induced. Apollymi snatched her up off the floor and gently scolded her, which Nea didn't understand because she'd never been scolded before. The little girl was smart though, and she appeared to understand what her grandmother was telling her.

"Promise me you won't wander off like that anymore Gapi."

"Kay Ahna," she said before she stuck her soggy hand into her grandmother's and they went off to play.

OoOoOo

"Will you come over here for a minute Gapi," Apollymi called to Nea. The little girl ran over eagerly, leaving a trail of flower petals in her wake. Apollymi had been studying the child trying to determine how much control she had over the power she held within her. "Let's play a game shall we?"

Nea clambered up into her lap and smiled. She could feel the love that Apollymi had for her and it made her willing to do whatever her grandmother asked of her. "Game?"

"That's right Gapi. Okay, now can you get that flower over there for me?" She asked pointing to one on the edge of the path. Nea started to get down off her lap and she put a gentle hand on the girl's leg, "No dear. I don't want you to go to it; I want you to bring it to you. Do you understand?"

Nea scrunched up her face for a moment and then the meaning behind Apollymi's words sunk in, "Kay." She stared at the flower, willing it to come to her and it visibly shook on the stalk. Apollymi held her breath in anticipation, then suddenly not one flower, but several, floated out of the bed and hovered in the air before them.

Apollymi clapped her hands in delight, "Marvelous Gapi. Okay, put the flowers back please." Nea screwed her eyes shut and the flowers floated back to where they'd come from. Apollymi had expected them to just land on the ground but Akrinea not only put them back in the ground but she mended the stalks and the uprooted earth. When she was done she looked up at the older woman, "Oh darling you are simply brilliant! Okay, let's try something else. Can you make something for me?" She thought for a moment and tried to think of something innocuous that wasn't readily available here in Kalosis. "How about a puppy? Can you conjure up a puppy for me?"

The little girl closed her eyes again and seemed to be thinking about it when suddenly an adorable little puppy came loping through the flowers surrounding them. Nea opened her eyes when the puppy barked and she giggled and clapped her hands. Apollymi allowed her to get down off her lap and play with the puppy for a while.

The former goddess was about to ask Akrinea to return to the puppy to wherever it came from when there was a commotion from the other side of the garden. One of the Charonte came rushing over begging for her attention. "What?"

"Forgive me akra, you are needed at once!" the demon motioned for his mistress to follow him but Apollymi wouldn't move until she knew what the issue was.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"The Daimons, akra. They are rioting and Strykerius is caught in the middle of it. Please hurry."

Apollymi rolled her eyes in exasperation and though that she should probably let the Daimons just kill him and be done with it but then she followed after the Charonte, stabbing a finger at Xedrix and Sabine, "Do not let her out of your sight!" she ordered indicating Akrinea. They nodded once and turned their attention to the child.


	23. Chapter 23

Far back in the darkest reaches of Kalosis, the creature that had recently awoken raised it's head and scented the damp breeze that brushed across its face. The key to its release from the millennia of confinement was near. Gently probing the surrounding areas it noted where the powers were and what it needed to accomplish its goal. A deep rumbling laugh echoed through the surrounding rock like an earthquake as it moved forward.

OoOoOo

Nea was sitting at the edge of the garden path surrounded by the sweet smelling flowers and wondering where her grandmother had gone off too. She was thinking about getting up and following her but the two Charonte that were watching her probably wouldn't let her get too far. She looked over her shoulder at the yellow one and was surprised to see that it wasn't moving. When she looked towards the orange one, he wasn't moving either. Not one to let an opportunity like this pass, she rose from the ground and wobbled over to where they stood. When neither of the demons moved or blinked she shrugged and toddled off out of their sight to see what she could find.

A short way away she stopped suddenly in front of a man she'd never seen before. She had a hard time looking up at him, he was as tall as her daddy and daddy was really tall. Something about the way he smiled down at her made her giggle.

"Hello there. You really shouldn't be out here alone little one. Something bad could happen to you." The man said as he looked around. "Perhaps you and I should take a walk while everyone else is otherwise occupied. I'll make sure that you are taken care of." He grinned down at her with sharp shiny teeth and she giggled more as he picked her up and walked into the depths of Kalosis with her.

OoOoOo

Nick walked out the door of his hotel room and leaned over the railing that overlooked the main floor of the hotel. The sight of it all still took his breath away. He'd been in the largest hotels in New Orleans but nothing there could compare with the sheer size of what stretched out before him now. Suddenly someone nearby whistled sharply and he looked around for the source. Grinning wickedly from farther down the walkway was the girl from the elevator. She was waving her hand wildly for him to come to where she was standing, still careful not to get too close to the railing.

"Well hey there," he called as he walked down the hall towards her.

"Okay, help me out will ya?" she said breathlessly.

"I have a feeling I should be scared by that request. But I'm an adventurous sort so what can I do?"

She chewed her lip for a moment and stared at the floor. "Never mind. It's way too much to ask of you, I mean I don't know you at all."

Nick shrugged and turned to go back to his room, "Okay, if you say so."

"Wait!" she said, lunging for his arm and then jumping in front of him. "Okay, here's the deal. Like I said, I'm here for a friend's wedding. My problem is that the bride's sister seems to think she's quite a matchmaker and she wants to hook me up with this guy she knows. The only problem with it is that I've already met this guy and…well…he's awful. So I need your help."

The amusement in Nick's eyes was palpable and he grinned at her, "Why do I think I know where you're going with this?"

She just wouldn't meet his glance and apparently found her shoes to be incredibly fascinating. "Would you pretend to be my date so I can avoid this guy?"

"How bad is he?"

"Leisure Suit Larry bad. Ron Jeremy bad." Finally she looked at him and the blush that crept up her neck made him smile.

"How can I resist rescuing you from that? Deal, but you've got to do something for me too. Wait, make that two things." She looked mildly frightened but she nodded weakly anyway. "First, you have to tell me your name. Wouldn't do for me to be your date and not know your name right?"

That was apparently the perfect thing to set her mind at ease because she laughed and held out her hand, "I'm Lisa. Lisa Peters."

"Nick Gautier, pleased to be your date Miss Peters."

She beamed up at him and studied his face carefully. If he didn't know better, he'd think she was trying to see right through his skull into his brain. "French?"

"No," he chuckled. "New Orleans. Wait, I guess that is French then huh? Oh well, guess I have to be an asshole now if I'm French."

"I seriously doubt that could happen. Hey, you want to go get a bite to eat with me?"

He swept his arm out in a bow and motioned for her to lead the way, "I'd be honored."

OoOoOo

They rode down to the main floor, gawking at the massive casino and the thousands of people in it. Lisa had grabbed a map of the hotel out of her room when she grabbed her purse and they twisted their way through the casino to the back of the hotel where they decided that the buffet was the place to go. The walked down the stairs to the basement of the hotel where the massive buffet room was and chatted as they made their way up to the entrance. Nick gallantly paid for both of them although Lisa argued with him the whole way.

"You never did tell me what the second favor was," she said sweetly as they gathered up heaping plates of food.

"Huh? Oh! I want you to look over the railing up by the rooms. The view is incredible. I'll stand right next to you so you know you're safe okay?"

"You know, if you make me do that I'm gonna end up throwing up all over the poor unsuspecting tourists below."

Nick laughed heartily, "Well then, eat up. It'll be that much more amusing if we can hit more than one." He waited to see if she'd take the bait and she looked mildly disgusted for a moment before bursting out laughing. "Seriously, Just for a minute, then you can paste yourself to the wall again. You'll love it I promise."

They ate and talked about why they were in Vegas and their lives. Nick found himself laughing easily for the first time in a very long time. They discovered that they had practically nothing in common but they both felt an overwhelming connection building. Lisa told him all about her life in Virginia and how she'd met her friends that were getting married and Nick told her all about his mother and how Cherise had raised him all by herself. They laughed and chatted until the waiters started looking at them pleadingly to leave and they made their way up into the casino.

"So why don't you tell me what is happening with this whacked out plan of yours. When is the wedding?" Nick asked.

"Um, the wedding is Saturday but there's the rehearsal dinner Thursday too. Would you mind going to that too?"

"Oh if I must," he said with an attitude he didn't feel. She looked up at him and he grinned wickedly at her, "Kidding! Of course I'll go. Wouldn't want you to end up being the trophy of some sleaze ball. Just tell me when and where and I'm all yours."

Lisa stopped walking and looked at him studying his face, "You are amazing you know that?"

The embarrassment that showed on his face surprised him and he tried to look normal, "You know, no one but my mother has ever said that. Thank you."

"No, thank you. You're saving my life here and you barely even know me. If that isn't the sign of an amazing person, I don't know what is." She walked a little ahead of him and headed into the casino floor. "Oh, you don't happen to have a suit do you?"

Nick looked stunned for a moment and recovered, "Well, I didn't happen to pack one but I can work something out."

"Well, let me pay for it. We can go find one in the morning."

Nick reached out and grabbed her elbow, turning her to look at him, "Don't even think about it. I'm saving you here so I'll take care of it. You can count on me okay?"

Lisa looked like she was about to cry so he put his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her. Suddenly she tipped up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek and it was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for him. The blush that slid up his neck burned with a tingle that ran all the way down his toes. "You are like my own personal knight in shining armor."

"Well then I guess we'd better go next door to Excalibur so I can flaunt my prowess huh?" He laughed at the feeble joke he'd made but he suddenly wanted to spend a very long time getting to know this woman.

"How about if we just hit the casino? I'm feeling lucky."

"Lead the way."


	24. Chapter 24

Akrinea sat on the strange man's lap and giggled as he tickled her sides. He had been holding her for a while now and she was getting bored but he didn't seem to want to let her go back to the garden. She didn't want Ahna to get mad at her again but if her grandmother wanted her to return, she'd come get her.

The man's long black hair hung down and danced as he moved his arms. His eyes were pure black, nothing showing in them but the faint reflections of the light around them. Nea didn't know who he was but he was paying attention to her so she was happy.

"Would you like to come play with me for a while little one? I have a feeling you'd like my friend. She has a winged pony that you could ride. Would you like that?" When the girl smiled and nodded eagerly he rose up and set her on the ground leaning over to take her hand. "Good, let's go shall we?"

OoOoOo

Nick woke the next morning with a feeling of joy that he hadn't had in a very long time. He'd spent most of the night talking with Lisa. They gambled for a while, won a little bit of money, and then found their way to a table in a restaurant that they sat in for several hours just talking. Lisa finally had said that she was exhausted and they made their way back to their rooms right before four in the morning. Lisa had actually allowed him to walk her over to the railing high above the casino floor and when she looked over it her amazement easily overwhelmed the underlying fear of heights she had.

"See? I told you it was amazing," Nick had chided.

"Right, I get it. You're funny, handsome _and_ smart. Point made."

He shot her a sly glance at the 'handsome' part but she was busy looking over the railing at the center of the hotel. "Well, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Oh, I'm supposed to meet up with my friends for lunch. It's been a while since I've seen them and we wanted to catch up before the wedding." She paused a moment and noticed the hint of disappointment on his face. "But I can bow out of it and make some time for you if you'd like."

"No, no. You go visit with your friends and I'll find a suit. I really don't want to intrude on your plans."

She leaned over and laced her arms with his, laying her head on his shoulder. "You are a very nice intrusion that I would welcome. Why don't I meet you after I come back? We can have some dinner and maybe go see a show or something."

"Are you asking me on a date?" Nick asked slyly.

"Why Mr. Gautier I'm simply shocked," she drawled in a thick southern accent. "Seriously? Sure, why not. I'm taking you to a wedding, a date can't hurt can it?"

"Deal, but I get to take you out. My treat. I've never been to Vegas before and if I have to see it with a beautiful woman on my arm, then damn it all we're going in style!"

OoOoOo

Nick knocked softly on Lisa's door and waited patiently. She'd called his room half an hour ago to tell him that she was back and would change and be ready. He'd given her an extra ten minutes and then walked slowly down to her room. He heard her call out from in the room and then she opened the door in a rush.

"Sorry I took so long," she blurted and then took a second to actually look at him. "Oh!" He was holding out a single red rose for her with a big grin on his face. "You really didn't have to do that Nick."

"Hey now, I told you I was in charge of this date and this is what I thought you needed. Just go with it will you?"

She nodded shyly and put the rose inside her room. "If you're trying to sweep me off my feet you're off to a good start."

He smiled down with a twinkle in his eye, "Good, then let's get to the good part shall we?"

He took her down to the lobby and they waited for a cab in the line that had formed. Once they'd gotten in to one Nick directed the driver to take them to the Bellagio. They rode along quietly, both of them enjoying the sights outside. Nick pointed out the fountains in front of the Bellagio when they turned into it and Lisa asked if they could go watch them after dinner. "Of course. Anything you want." He then led her into the hotel and through the museum quality entrance hall towards where the restaurants lay.

"Oh, you can't afford this. Can you?" Lisa asked when they stepped up to the maitre d' at the front of the Circo.

Nick simply smiled at her and gave the man at the desk his name. "Follow me please Messier, Madame." The maitre d' led them across the busy restaurant floor to a small yet beautiful table right in front of the windows that overlooked the famous fountains. Lisa was gaping in awe of the magnificence of the setting and the view and Nick allowed her to stare.

Once they were seated and Lisa tore her gaze from the fountains and looked critically at Nick. "Okay, so what bank did you rob to get us in here?"

He laughed at her question and wondered how much he should tell her about the money he had in his bank account. "No bank. Good accountant though. Stop asking silly questions and enjoy this will you?"

He ordered them a bottle of wine and raised his glass to her once they'd ordered their meal. "To beautiful women and amazing coincidences."

Lisa snorted, nearly choking on her wine, "I don't know about any beautiful women but I'll definitely drink to the coincidence part."

"You're too hard on yourself you know?" Nick said as he leaned over the table and took her hand in his own. "You keep talking like that and eventually people will believe it."

"You're sweet but you can stop lying to me now. I'm not anything special and I'm hardly beautiful. Heck, I'm still trying to figure out why you even talked to me in the first place."

"Well I figured it was either that or you'd keep beating the snot out of me on the elevator. I admit it, I took the easy way out."

They laughed their way through dinner, watching the fountains and going over the plans for the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. "You're sure you don't have anything more pressing to do than to go to a wedding for people you don't know?"

Nick shook his head, "Nope. I had no plans when I got here other than to enjoy myself. So far I'm doing okay on that score. Besides, I love a good wedding." He turned serious for a moment, "I mean it Lisa, I'm having a great time with you and I don't regret any of this. You're a beautiful woman and…"

"…And?"

"Nothing, never mind."

She glared at him over the now empty bottle of wine and the chocolate covered dessert dishes. "Okay, now you're worrying me. I mean I figured you were mentally unstable from the start but now I'm thinking there may be something a bit darker in you." She studied his face and squinted her eyes at him as if she could see into his soul by doing so. "Well, I guess I have to wait and see if you're gonna kill me or not. I can't figure it out. You've got a really good cover you know?"

Nick had to work not to laugh at that. Having spent several years being Kyrian's squire and masking his true nature it amused him to no end that Lisa commented about his 'cover'. The world that he'd lived in for so long had tighter security than God and that was saying quite a lot considering the nature of several of the dark hunters. He swallowed a sip of water and composed his thoughts, it certainly wouldn't do to let slip any of the knowledge he had rattling around in his head. "Well, I guess you're just going to have to trust me. If I do end up being a killer, well there's a really good forensic unit in town so the murder will probably be solved and I'll be brought to justice."

"Well, that's comforting."


	25. Chapter 25

Nick's jaw dropped as the sweeping plumes of water exploded out of the lake in front of him. Lisa had insisted that they needed to see the fountains from outside as well for the full experience and he happily let her lead him out to the sidewalk in front of the hotel. He'd read about this sight but he had never imagined that it could be so massive and intricate. The water really did dance to the music that blared from carefully hidden speakers. This was their third time watching the show and it still amazed him.

Finally tearing his eyes from the fountains he glanced down at his watch, "We should get going. Don't want to be late for the show."

"Show? You were serious about that?"

"Yup. Ready?" He held out a gallant arm for her to take and they skirted the crowd at the railing to head back to the entrance way of the hotel.

Without warning Lisa stopped in her tracks and glared at him, "Okay, finish what you were going to say earlier."

"What?"

"In the restaurant, you said 'you're a beautiful woman and…' You never finished it. What were you going to say?"

Nick shuffled his feet nervously and kicked at a stray bottle cap that dared to mar the pristine landscape. "I was going to say, you're probably too good to be true."

Lisa tapped her foot and glared at him, "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

Nick chuckled at her attitude, "Pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Every time I think I meet the perfect woman, she either falls for a friend of mine or just vanishes. I'm destined never to find the right woman you know?"

"God, but you're pig headed," Lisa said taking his hand and pulling him towards the hotel. "Do you have any idea what a catch you are? I mean, hello? Nick, if any girl passed you up for someone else then she obviously wasn't good enough for you anyway."

He marveled at her words as they walked back into the hotel and towards the massive theater that housed the Cirque Du Soleil show "O". Lisa stumbled a little as she was swept along by the crowd entering the theater. "You're kidding me right? You didn't actually buy tickets to this did you?"

"Yeah. I asked the lady at the desk to tell me the best show in town and this is what she said. Is there a problem with it? Oh crap, you've seen the show already haven't you?"

Lisa gaped at him dumbfounded, "No, I haven't seen the show. Nick, do you know how expensive tickets to this are? Wait, I guess you do. How can you afford this?"

"Don't worry about it will you?" He studied her face and he could still see the disbelief and doubt etched on it. "Fine, I had some money saved in an account from my old job. Now will you come on, it's going to start."

She allowed him to lead her into the theater and she renewed her sense of wonder as they were led to seats not too far from the stage. When she glanced over at him he just grinned and nodded at her and she didn't ask any further questions. As the lights dimmed and the show music swelled in the auditorium she thanked whatever god it was that had put this amazing man in her path.

OoOoOo

After the show was over they walked back to the Luxor, enjoying the cool breezes of the night and laughing together as they talked about the amazing feats the performers had achieved. When they finally entered the hotel Lisa started yawning uncontrollably and Nick raised an eyebrow at her, wondering if it was an act or if she really was that tired. He escorted her to her room and waited patiently as she fumbled in her purse for the key.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" She asked as she turned back to face him.

As they'd walked back to the hotel they'd discussed plans for the next day. Neither of them had really had a chance to explore the city, and they had decided to go do the 'touristy thing' and see the hotels and whatnot. "Yup. No rush though. Sleep as long as you want and then give me a call."

"You sure I won't wake you up?"

"Nah, I'll be up." He grinned down at her and was slightly disappointed when she turned to go into her room. He desperately wanted to kiss her but he was afraid that if he did it she would freak out. So he remained a gentleman and said nothing as she closed the door behind her.


	26. Chapter 26

Akrinea was bored. She'd been promised that she would get to ride a winged pony but so far she hadn't seen anything like that. Instead the man with the black eyes had led her to a cave very far away from her grandmother's garden and she was tired from all of the walking. He had been asking her lots of questions that she wasn't entirely sure how to answer. Looking around in the dim light she found nothing that would entertain her and nothing that looked even remotely interesting. So she thought very hard about being back in her grandmother's garden and suddenly she was there.

OoOoOo

Lisa giggled happily as she pulled the slot machine bar one more time and waited to see if anything happened. Nick's chin was resting on her shoulder and his arms were firmly wrapped around her waist as he watched the wheels roll past the lines on the front of the machine. They had worked their way up the strip to the Wynn hotel, stopping to enjoy the sights of the various hotels along the way. Nick had convinced her that she simply had to indulge in one of the gondola rides at the Venetian and she happily snuggled into his arm as the gondolier pushed them out into the water. After that they'd visited Madame Tussaud's and they'd had a blast taking pictures of each other with various wax likenesses.

Now they were making their way through the massive casino in the Wynn before they went across the street and headed back down the Strip to the Luxor. Lisa had insisted that they actually gamble a little, reminding Nick that was one of the major reasons to be in this city in the first place. He finally relented and let her pick their games. He'd won a few hands of blackjack earlier, telling her that he played cards with some of his buddies back home. After learning that, she'd suggested he try his luck at poker and he'd lost everything that he'd won before. Lisa rolled her eyes at him when he explained that that was pretty much how his luck went and then she grabbed his hand and dragged him to the slot machines.

"Holy cow!" Lisa exclaimed as the final wheel slammed into place and bells started ringing as they announced that someone had won a jackpot. She jumped up and down in her excitement and Nick laughed as she danced around. She threw herself into his arms, hugging him and laughing in delight. Without thinking about it she pulled his head down and kissed him. He didn't fight her action and he was amazed at the explosion of light and color that filled his head. He barely had a moment to process the feeling before she broke away from him and casino staff congratulating them on their win descended upon them.

They were whisked off to a business office deep in the heart of the hotel and Lisa was asked to sign several documents stating that she was a legal citizen and she agreed to pay taxes and whatnot. Meanwhile, Nick was still trying to wrap his head around the kiss that she'd given him. He'd never felt a rush of feelings from a kiss before and the concept of it made him giddy. Maybe that was what his mother had meant by being kissed blind. He was mulling that thought over as Lisa finished her paperwork and was handed a check for the remainder of her winnings.

"So, what are you going to do with the money?" One of the hotel staff asked her.

"Pay off all of my bills!" Lisa giggled. "But I think I'm going to have some fun while I'm here in town too. Is there a Bank of America around here?"

The hotel attendant gave her directions and walked them back out to the floor and sent them on their way. They headed for the main entrance of the hotel and Lisa tucked her arm into Nick's as they walked. "So, what do you want to do to celebrate this?"

"Not my money darlin'. It's all up to you."

"Nick, I want to do something that makes you happy too. I wouldn't have won the money if you weren't with me." He looked at her with a cocked eyebrow and she giggled at his expression. "Seriously. I am the unluckiest person in the world. I mean I could be the _only_ person to play the lottery, they could give me the numbers and I'd still manage to lose. Since I've been around you, that all seems to be changing. So you've got to be my good luck charm or something." She stopped walking and looked up at his confusion.

"You have got to be kidding me. I am probably one of the signs of the antichrist not a good luck charm. Have you got any idea how shitty my life is? Wait, no you don't. Never mind." He looked down at his shoes and mentally kicked himself for saying anything like that to her. Now he'd probably blown his only shot at having a chance with her. Typical.

Instead of her being angry with him, Lisa did the exact opposite of what he had expected and she pressed herself against the line of his body and wrapped him in a hug that warmed his soul. "You're too good a person for me to believe that garbage. Now shut up and tell me what you feel like doing to celebrate will you? You took care of me last night. My turn."

Nick lost himself in the deep brown of her eyes and he couldn't help but smile at her before he leaned down and kissed her gently. Lisa returned his passion eagerly and he deepened the kiss until his soul was on fire and he felt like his spine was melting.

Across the room Phaedryn smiled to herself as she watched the love between the two of them blossom like a perfect rose.


	27. Chapter 27

Apollymi stormed back into the garden; furious with Stryker and anyone else she could vent her wrath on. She often wondered why she let Stryker live and this was definitely one of the times she could easily flash him off to nowhere. His stupidity had angered someone a whole lot more powerful than himself who had sent him to goddess knew where and now the Daimons he controlled were seriously out of that limited grasp. Stryker had eventually found his way back from whatever hell dimension he'd been sent to and he was nearly powerless as he recovered from the experience which left no one to control the Daimons and that was obviously not a good thing. So they had started a mini riot when he tried to return them to that limited control and now he was even more damaged than before. Apollymi had to step in to the conflict and threaten to destroy the Daimons one and all if they didn't stop. Of course the Daimons weren't aware of her losing her power and the threat she still held was enough.

She was growling under her breath about what an idiot her adopted son was when she looked down and saw Akrinea sitting near her chaise with the puppy that she'd conjured earlier. The little girl was giggling and rolling around on the ground as the puppy bounced around her licking her face and wagging its stubby tail furiously. The vision of that made the goddess pause and just revel in the normalcy of the sight. She didn't disturb them as she sat quietly on the chaise and felt her anger wash away as she watched the spectacle in front of her. Finally she would be able to experience joy instead of the sorrow and misery that had plagued her for so long.

OoOoOo

Acheron glared at Artemis as she stalked around him trailing her nails along his bare chest. "You really need to give this up Artie. I told you I'm not sleeping with you again. Ever. Get it through your head."

"Oh pooh! You know she'll never find out. Besides, you're supposed to love me. I am the mother of your child."

Ash growled low in his throat, "So is she. And I knew about her bearing my child long before I knew about you doing it."

Artemis stuck her lower lip out and pouted at him. Before she could start her next tirade at him her head flew up in alarm as she heard Katra mentally calling for her help. "Katra? What's wrong?"

Artemis paled in a completely unnatural way as Katra quickly filled her in on the fact that the gallu had breached their defenses and now the Dimme were about to escape their prison. Artemis shot a pain stricken look at Ash and released him from the bond she held him in. "You have to go to her. If anyone can stop them you can." She didn't explain more, he already knew what was happening and he didn't hesitate in flashing himself to the cave in Nevada where the battle was taking place. Artemis followed behind him and appeared at the edge of the fighting next to Kat.

"Mother?" Kat questioned as she saw the goddess out of the corner of her eye before she ducked under a flying gallu demon.

"Fight now, talk later," Artemis hissed as she conjured a sword and began hacking at the demons around her.

On the other side of the room Acheron was slicing and stabbing his way towards Sin and his brother. After pushing several gallu out of his way, he reached them and hastily questioned the status of the seal on the chamber that held the Dimme. If they were to escape, the human race would be devoured in a matter of days. "Sin? Tell me you have good news."

"Working on it," the former Sumerian god called back. He was rapidly consulting with his twin on any solution to this massive problem they currently faced. Ash could hear them talking as he battled the demons and it didn't sound good. Apparently it took three Sumerian gods to seal the Dimme away in the first place and they were currently down to only two in existence.

Ash hastily scanned the chamber and took stock of the battle that was occurring. He saw the Charonte in a rough triangle off to one side ripping the gallu to pieces and moving on to the next as quickly as they could. What surprised him was that the Dolophoni were in the thick of the battle as well. Not wanting to question that little stroke of luck he turned his attention back to Sin. Zakar was furiously shaking his head at his brother's latest suggestion as he visibly sagged from the wounds he'd received at the hands of Kessar.

Suddenly a bloodcurdling shriek ripped through the chamber and everyone turned to see what had happened. Xiovar collapsed to the ground in a bloody heap as a trio of gallu ripped one of his wings from his back. He managed to twist his body towards them and he slammed a clawed hand into one of the demon's chests and tore its heart out before Simi and Xirena came to his rescue. His pain had pulled on the bond that he had with Phaedryn and she appeared beside him cradling his head in her lap. Ash lunged towards his wife and he saw her put a gentle hand on Xiovar's shoulder and the blood stopped flowing from the gaping wound. She barely had enough time to finish the patch up job on him before a massive rumble roared through the chamber followed by the most terrifying noise anyone had ever heard.


	28. Chapter 28

Phaedryn looked down at Xiovar sadly and wondered what the hell had happened. One moment she was in Las Vegas watching Nick and Lisa having fun and the next she was consumed by the most intense pain she'd ever imagined. She'd found herself in the chamber an instant later with a very wounded Xiovar in her lap. She'd immediately done what occurred naturally to her to heal his wound but then the rumbling started and she cringed from the cacophony of wailing that pierced her ears and made her tremble in utter fear. Then she knew what was happening and her mind raced.

She let Xiovar rise from the floor and he stood in front of her, protecting her as best he could from the onslaught that came at them from every angle. The gallu demons seemed to part like water and they scurried away from the seal that held the Dimme inside, mowing down whatever was in their way. Phaedryn could see the massive crack in the seal and it was getting larger rapidly. Then Ash was in her line of sight and she could see the concern on his face as he verified that she was all right before running back to Sin and Zakar.

"Please tell me that's not what I think it is," he shouted pointing at the clawed hand that was working at the crack in the seal.

Zakar nodded weakly and then he turned his attention back to his brother. "We need to seal them back in."

"Yeah, well we also need another Sumerian god to do that." He whipped his head towards Ash. "You got any ideas here boss?"

Ash shook his head feebly as his panic began to grow. They simply couldn't let the Dimme escape. He glanced back at Artemis who shook her head negatively as well and then to Deimos who shrugged. "Is there any way you can do it with only two?"

"We can try," Sin said as he moved towards his brother and they began chanting in a language that was long forgotten. The magic they were stirring was palpable in the room and it crackled and swirled through the ranks of gallu and other entities. As the spell began to take hold the Dimme that were at the entrance of the cave they were trapped in began to work more diligently at the seal to escape before they were ensnared again.

Ash watched in horror as one of them worked the crack open enough to squeeze through and it flew towards Zakar and Sin and cleaved Zakar in half with its claws. Sin managed to duck under its grasp and the Dimme returned to the seal and tugged at the massive stone block that was between it and its sisters. They were completely powerless against the Dimme now. There was no way they could re-seal the crypt with only Sin. Ash was about to move towards Phaedryn to try to protect her when he heard her scream out her brother's name.

Savitar appeared beside her and he scanned the room swiftly when he saw the panicked look on her face. Seeing the Dimme that was releasing its sisters, his face went blank and he stepped over behind Phaedryn. Then a ball of brilliant blue light erupted from his body and Ash watched as Savitar's form merged with Phaedryn's. The being that stood in the middle of the light was both male and female at once, Savitar and Phaedryn, and yet was neither of them.

The rest of the Dimme stormed out of the cave and attacked Sin and Ash as they were now the closest to the prison. Ash was about to try to blast them with his power when the blue glow from behind him turned to a bloody red, and a wave of heat, light and power cascaded over him and slammed into the Dimme. The demons that had escaped shrieked in pain as they seemed to burn up from within. The red light continued to pulse and wash over the Dimme, focusing itself on the demons and when one would push farther out of the seal it was met with a wall of pain as the light consumed it.

Ash shielded his eyes from the glow and crouched low to the floor trying to keep as far away from the power as he could. It hurt him with its intensity and he wondered exactly what was happening. Then the first Dimme exploded in a hail of ash and wetter bits and he ducked his head to avoid being splattered with the gore.

Then, abruptly, the room went quiet as the red glow dimmed and eventually winked out all together. Ash raised his head and noted primarily that the Dimme were gone. His relief was short lived because the next thing he did was scan the remaining group in the room. Everyone was on the ground or close to it, huddled together against the power that had exploded in the room. He tried to get up from the floor but found that he was drained of energy as if he had all of his power sucked out of him. That thought frightened him a little and he crawled towards Sin to check to see if the Sumerian was all right.

Sin was rolling over, also trying to get up and meeting with about as little success as Ash was. However, he seemed more concerned about Kat's well being and he dragged himself towards where she lay. Ash moved over to check Simi and Xirena who looked content where they lay so he judged them to be fine. Then he turned his attention to Phaedryn who was kneeling on all fours beside her brother. Savitar was rising up slowly, moving like an old man and Ash could actually see the age of the other being for just a moment etched in the lines on his face. Then the mask suddenly returned and Savitar looked as he always did. Ash shivered a little as he realized exactly how powerful Savitar really was and made a mental note to ask his friend about that later on.

Savitar helped his sister to her feet and cradled her in his arms whispering something to her in a language that Ash didn't understand at all. She nodded carefully at Savitar and he pushed her over to Ash's waiting arms. "Keep her safe," he said abruptly and then turned to face the rest of the group. First he waved a hand in the direction of the Dolophoni and they vanished from the room. Then he turned to Artemis and she disappeared too. Finally Sin, Kat and Zakar's body vanished as well. Then he turned to the Charonte and waved a hand again. Simi puffed into smoke and returned to Ash's chest, Xirena poofed out, presumably to Katoteros. Savitar beckoned Xiovar to him and the demon obeyed without question. He waved a hand over the demon's shoulder and a new wing sprouted from his back as good as new. Xiovar flexed the healed muscles a little, spreading his wings out in wonder and then he misted into smoke and laid himself across Phaedryn's shoulder.

Savitar turned to Ash and his sister and looked mildly amused at the confusion on Ash's face. "I don't suppose you'd pretend that never happened would you?" he asked with a lopsided grin.


	29. Chapter 29

"Nope. 'Splain Lucy."

"Fine," he looked at Phaedryn who shrugged at him and then he snapped his fingers and they were in a room that Ash had never been in before. It was elegant and sumptuous, with pillows and chairs enough for an army. Savitar flopped down on a pile of the pillows and flashed himself into a pair of board shorts and a tank top. Then a tub of ice packed with beer bottles appeared next to him. "Take a load off. Have a beer."

Phaedryn settled herself near her brother and reached for one of the bottles. "May as well get comfy babe, this is a long story." She was apparently not in the least bit curious as to where they were so he relaxed his own defenses and sunk to the floor, curling his body around hers.

"Uh, where are we?" Ash asked as he relaxed himself and took stock of all of the aches and pains he felt.

"Neratiti." Savitar answered. "My private area. No one's ever been in here but Phae. Consider yourself lucky."

"I do, but…well there's a lot of questions here," he mused, tapping his forehead with a finger.

Phaedryn laughed as she sipped at her beer. "And you thought you knew everything huh?"

Savitar chuckled at her joke. "Okay, so you know that old rule about nature hating a vacuum right?" Ash nodded as the other man drank half of his beer in a long swallow. "Yeah, well what do you know about what happens when a god ceases to exist?"

"As much as the next god does. The power has to be absorbed into another god or really bad things happen."

"Right. Well there's been a major number of gods throughout the years. Not all of them were given the appropriate handbook and it took a lot of 'really bad things' as you said, happening before they figured it out. So nature created an outlet for all of that power while the morons got their shit together. And not all of the power that one god has gets transferred to the one absorbing it. It's gotta go somewhere, so it ends up in that power reservoir that nature created."

Phaedryn broke in and explained further, "A bunch of the gods that have ceased to exist over the years never got absorbed because they didn't have any counterparts in whatever pantheon took them over. Their powers weren't compatible. So there was a lot of extra god juice rolling around just waiting to be used. Humans have stopped believing in gods as much as they did when they were young so a lot of the gods have died out. Like the Sumerians and the Apteritites." Ash looked confused at that last name and she noticed it and elaborated. "They were a race that was before the Sumerians, think cavemen but a little bit more upright. Oh and they had gods for _everything_. I mean, who knew you needed a god of toothaches but damned if they didn't have one."

Savitar chuckled at her words and reached for another beer. "So how do you know this?" Ash asked her.

"Because she's not as young as she looks." Phaedryn batted playfully at her brother and then leaned back into Ash's embrace. "Remember when I explained to you that she's the same thing I am? Well, I wasn't kidding, she is the other half of me and what I encompass."

"I'm lost. What does that mean?"

Savitar looked annoyed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Um, okay. Do you know what I am specifically?"

"You're a Cthonian right?"

"Not _a_ Cthonian, _the_ Cthonian." That apparently didn't explain enough for Ash's liking because he rolled his hand in a 'go on' motion. "Okay fine. That power reservoir I talked about. That is what I am, what we are. Phae and I are all of the power that used to belong to gods."

Now Ash's jaw dropped in shock. If that was the case then he was sitting in the presence of the most powerful beings ever created. "But I thought that Phae was born Atlantean. I'm really confused here."

"You should try being on our end of it," Phae said with a grin. "And I was born Atlantean. Mostly. Sav had absorbed so much power over the years that he had to disperse some of it or he would explode in a most spectacular fashion. Hence, the rest of the Cthonians. He gave a good chunk of the power to them to be his task force so he could be lazy and surf all the time." Savitar stuck his tongue out at her and she threw a pillow at him. "Well, as you might expect, the Cthonians got all the bad ass powers that Sav would let go of. Something still had to be done with the… erm…softer side of his power. He channeled all of that into me."

"When the need arose to stop your mother, I created Phae. I put all of the power I could into her so she could defend herself but she didn't know how to use it so your mom killed her. She got all of the love and romance and fertility and girly stuff in that cute little package. I just never activated her god powers because I wanted her to be relatively normal. You were human at the time so it made sense that she be the same. Well, that plan backfired and here we are."

"So you're telling me that Phae has got powers in her from a mass of dead gods?" The brother and sister nodded as one. "And if she wanted to she could just destroy pretty much anything she wanted right?"

Phae laughed, "No, I'm the good one, remember? I can make everyone in the world hornier than they can possibly imagine and make every plant on the planet bloom at once but nothing truly destructive." She studied her husband's face, "I know, it sucks right? I was hoping I was all badass too but no dice."

"That and there are checks in place that don't allow us to use that much power at once. That's why I doled a bunch of it out to the Cthonians and Phae."

Ash nodded slowly like he was processing the information he'd been given. "Okay, so what the hell was that in the cave? Seemed like a pretty massive amount of power to me."

"Not really," Savitar shifted on the pillows, "That's why you feel like shit now. We combined our powers and in doing so we drained a lot out of the rest of you. Basically we acted like a conduit and channeled a bunch of everyone's power into one concentrated focus to kick the Dimme's collective ass. You'll feel drained for a while longer but it'll come back, don't worry about that."

"Huh, you learn something new every day."


	30. Chapter 30

Savitar explained more to his friend with Phaedryn cutting in every once in a while to clarify points for her husband. Eventually Ash seemed satisfied with the answers he'd gotten and he asked Phae if she was ready to leave. She said yes and they rose from the floor carefully, both of them still in a large amount of pain from the fight.

"One more question before we go," Ash said carefully. "How are you going to explain all of this to the rest of them?"

"No need to," Sav said casually. "They won't remember that part. They'll know they fought and fought hard but they don't know anything about me and Phae or what we can do. They now think they just all worked really hard and destroyed the Dimme. And please keep that little tidbit about us to yourself."

"No need to worry about that. You of all people should know I can keep a secret pretty well."

They left Savitar to his own devices and flashed themselves back to Katoteros. Ash collapsed onto the massive bed and Phaedryn lowered herself down carefully beside him. They cuddled for a while, neither saying anything, simply mulling through the events of the day. Eventually Ash's curiosity got the better of him. "So how much power do you have?"

She chuckled against his chest, "Enough to get by. Mine are more innocuous than his anyway. And Nea got some of mine. How about if I say enough that we can have plenty of kids if we want, they will never fight and we'll have the best garden anywhere?"

"Oh, is that all?"

Now she laughed louder, she knew he was teasing her. "Yeah. Isn't that enough? I mean I could pull out the toothache god powers if you really wanted."

"No, thank you, I'll do without. But you can still protect yourself right?"

"Yes. If it comes down to it but I'm a lover not a fighter." She smiled at him and kissed him softly.

He tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her closer to him, "So more kids huh? You think Nea wants a baby brother or sister?"

"Probably. What do you think?"

Ash waggled his eyebrows at her and grinned with a mouth full of fangs, "Do you really have to ask?"

OoOoOo

The next morning they rose from the bed and dressed themselves before returning to the tasks that were previously interrupted by Dimme and the imminent end of the world. Ash explained that he needed to return to Olympus. Of course Phaedryn argued that he really didn't need to do that, but he insisted. "I owe it to her for what she's given me over the years. I know it sucks but I gave my word."

"Fine. I still want to rip her arms off but I won't argue." He kissed the top of her head as he hugged her tightly to his chest. "You'd better go get Nea when you're done. I'm sure she's bored by now."

"Why don't you go get her?"

"Oh no! No way I'm going near your mother. Plus I've got something to finish."

Ash cocked an eyebrow at her, "And what would that be?"

"Call it a home improvement project." She chuckled to herself as she figured out what day it was on Earth and realized that it was the day of the wedding. Nick should be getting himself ready for it right now in fact. She could feel Lisa's excitement and she wondered if it was because her friends were getting married or if it was because of Nick.

OoOoOo

Nick was finishing up tying the bow tie that he'd gotten with his suit. It still amazed him that he could actually do things like that. With the background he had as a child he shouldn't ever have a need to wear a tie, much less know how to tie a bowtie properly. Yet here he was. Smiling at the opportunity he'd been given by Kyrian all those years ago, he thanked whatever god had seen fit to put him into the Dark Hunter's path.

He ran his fingers through his hair, attempting to straighten his unruly locks and meeting with no success. Shrugging at his reflection he smiled and decided he was ready. His excitement had been building and he'd hardly slept last night because of it. The realization that he was actually alive and happy to be that way thrilled him to his core. After his mother had been killed he thought he would never recover from the heartache. But then Lisa came into his life and suddenly he was on top of the world again.

He slipped his wallet and room key into his jacket pocket and walked down the hallway to Lisa's room. When he knocked on the door he waited patiently for her to answer and he was rewarded with the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen when the door opened. Whistling his appreciation at her beauty he watched her twirl around for him glowing with happiness. "You like?"

"You are beautiful," he whispered, still in awe. "Carrie's going to be pissed at you for outshining her."

"And look at you! Damn but you clean up nice Nick." She studied his suit and grinned happily. " Holy cow! Is that Armani? I am most definitely the luckiest girl on the planet today."

Nick beamed at her and held out a hand for her to take. He still thrilled at the jolt of electricity he got from her touch and they practically danced their way out of the hotel to the cab. As they rode to the church they said nothing, simply basking in their own happiness. The allowed the ushers to lead them to their seats and they sat patiently, their fingers laced together as they waited.

When the wedding was over they filed out of the church with the crowd, stopping to congratulate the happy couple and wish them happiness. Then they hitched a ride with a group of Lisa's college friends to the reception. They found a table that was close enough to the main table to be seen, but far enough away that they could escape unnoticed if they so chose.

Eventually the main part of the wedding part arrived and Lisa happily told Nick who they all were and how she knew them. She spiced up her descriptions with gossip and rumors that sounded like they were from a tabloid, yet she assured him were entirely true.

She had just pointed out the man that he was saving her from when the bride's sister presented herself in front of their table. "Well, you really weren't kidding about your date were you Lisa?" The woman's gaze slid over Nick like hot oil and he was instantly uncomfortable. "You sure you don't want to come sit with me hot stuff? I guarantee that I'm a lot more fun that Lisa the librarian is."

Nick swallowed loudly as he took in the woman's gaudy clothing and garish make up. "Uh no, thanks, I don't think I can handle that much fun." He tried to look meek and halfway scared of the monstrosity in front of him and he felt Lisa's fingers dig into his leg. When he shot a glance over to her he could tell she was desperately trying not to laugh.

"Hmm, well if you change your mind sugar, I'll be right over there at the fun table." She glanced back over her shoulder once more at him and then swayed her ample self off in a horrible attempt at being sexy.

"Oh. My. God." Nick stared after her dumbfounded that anyone could possibly act like that outside of a bad TV show. When he turned to Lisa with his mouth still gaping she burst out in laughter and he couldn't help but join her.

"See why I needed rescuing?"

"Well, not that I doubted you but _damn! _And I thought Mardi Gras was filled with freaks. Whoo!" They laughed more and then Nick suggested grabbing a drink so the left the table and found a bartender on the far end of the room. Nick asked for champagne for them both and then he clinked his glass against hers in a toast, "To good times and romance. May they both be true and plentiful."

"Amen," Lisa agreed as she sipped her champagne. "So, wanna dance?"

"I would love to."

They worked their way out onto the tiny dance floor and started swaying to the music. Nick pulled her closer to himself and reveled in the warmth of her body. They stared at each other as they danced, lost in their own world as they glided across the floor.

Across the room, Phaedryn leaned against the bar sipping a glass of champagne and smiling at her handiwork. She could feel the love between Nick and Lisa deepen and grow as they swayed to music only they could here. She didn't think that they really needed any more of her help but she truly felt wonderful knowing that she'd been able to give Nick the happiness that he so richly deserved. Sometimes life needed to be a fairy tale and somewhere deep down in all of the gods she was made up of there had to be one that was a fairy godmother type and Phaedryn happily let that one work it's magic on Nick and Lisa and the results were quite spectacular.


	31. Chapter 31

Ash finished his time on Olympus in a much better mood than he thought he'd be in when he arrived. Usually Artemis managed to annoy him to the point that he wanted to kill her, but today, happily, her anger was focused elsewhere. When he arrived on the mountain he found her still in bed, bruised and battered and the thought of the goddess of the hunt getting her ass handed to her made him chuckle. He left her to mope in her bed and he wandered out to the balcony that overlooked her forest. The breeze was gentle and it made him think of happier times in his life, when he was young in Atlantis. He was completely lost in his thoughts when Kat stepped out onto the balcony behind him.

"Hey dad," she said softly rousing him from his daydreams. "I didn't expect to see you back here so soon."

"I gave my word. You know how that goes. How's Sin doing?"

"Not good. He's taking Zakar's death really hard. Figured I'd give him some alone time for a while. How are you doing?"

Ash chuckled, "I feel like I got hit by a falling skyscraper but I'll live. You?"

"Bout the same. But we didn't have much of a choice did we?" Ash shook his head in time with her and once more marveled at how similar she was to him even after being separated from him for eleven thousand years. "So when am I going to get to take Nea out and spoil her rotten?"

"Whenever you like. Just tell Phae before you 'borrow' her or you'll have one pissed off goddess and a passel of Charonte after you." He studied his daughter for a moment and grinned at her, "Did you tell Sin yet?"

"Did I tell Sin what yet?" Ash pointed at her stomach and his grin widened. "How did you…? Damn you're freaky you know?" She put a hand on her belly and looked over her shoulder to see if her mother was around. "Not yet. You're not upset about that?"

Ash rose from the marble railing and stepped over to where she stood and placed his hands lovingly on her shoulders. "Baby, I've finally got the family I've always dreamed of having. And now you're expanding it and giving me more to love? How could I possibly be upset?"

Kat's features softened and she looked like she was about to cry for a moment before she blinked at him and smiled. "Well you're taking it a lot better than she will. She's going to freak!"

"Yeah, but it'll be damn fun to watch, so make sure I'm around when you tell her will you?"

OoOoOo

Akrinea dozed happily in Apollymi's arms as the older goddess rocked the toddler back and forth. Once she'd settled the Daimons near riot with a blustery show of anger she'd returned to the garden and found Nea happily playing with a puppy her anger fled and she settled herself on the ground with her granddaughter. They played for a while and then Nea started yawning so Apollymi had carried her back inside and conjured a rocking chair where they settled down for a while to rest. Before they knew it they'd both fallen into a light sleep, the little girl cradled against her chest.

Ash found them like that an hour later when he arrived in Kalosis to retrieve his daughter. He had entered the palace unchallenged and worked his way through the hallways to the throne room. The sight before him melted his heart. He briefly considered summoning Phaedryn to see this as well but then thought better of it. No, it was better to just relate it to her later instead of chancing a confrontation between his wife and his mother. So he settled himself on one of the couches along the wall and just basked in the joy that suffused the room.

OoOoOo

Phaedryn popped into Neratiti in her brother's private rooms and made Savitar jump as she startled him. She doubled over laughing at his reaction as he tried desperately to cover the fact that someone had just been able to sneak up on him.

"That right there is _exactly_ the reason I don't let anyone pop in here anywhere but the conference room. Damn it Phae!"

"Aw c'mon big brother, it was priceless. Gotta keep those reactions up ya know. Can't catch that big wave if you're not paying attention."

Savitar huffed around for another minute and then lowered himself to the floor. "I hate you."

Phae danced over and kissed him on top of his head, "You do not you big baby." She sat down heavily next to him and slung her arm around his shoulder.

"So what's been going on?"

"Oh, little of this, little of that."

Savitar lowered his eyes at her seriously, "Elaborate please."

She sighed as she studied his face and knew exactly what he was talking about. "C'mon Sav. You know he was meant for more."

"Yes he was. But you're dangerously close to crossing a line Phae. Be careful will you?"

She huffed at him, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't get your panties in a bunch. I'm done with that. They don't need my help anymore."

He raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her, "Really? You found his fated match?"

"Of course I did. I mean that is my thing you know. Yeesh, no confidence in me."

Savitar reached over and ruffled her hair, "Oh ye of little faith. So, just out of curiosity, where is my niece at?"

Phaedryn chewed her lip for a moment, "With her grandmother?"

Savitar looked mildly shocked and whistled in awe, "Now that is definitely not what I was expecting. Why'd you let her go there?"

"Well, you said something big was coming. Ash and I figured that if the Dimme actually got loose that she'd be safer in Kalosis surrounded by Spathi and Charonte than anywhere. Besides, it's not like she's got other grandparents to spoil her rotten you know."

"True, but I'm just amazed that you trust Apollymi."

"I don't, but there wasn't a lot of options. If you were even remotely responsible I'd bring her here," she ducked under his playful punch. "Anyway, it's all over now. I'll have plenty of time to be a dutiful mommy."

"Well, good. Then you can come spend some time with me. As much as it pains me to say it, I miss you."

"Oh my god!" she gasped and raised her hand to her heart. "Savitar? Are you ill? Have you been abducted by aliens? What happened to my real brother?"

He blinked at her for a moment wondering how she managed to sound so serious and then they both dissolved into peals of laughter.


	32. Chapter 32

_SIX MONTHS LATER_

"All right already, keep your shirt on," the man called as he ran down the stairs from the nursery. He'd been right in the middle of changing his son's diaper when the doorbell rang. Unfortunately for him it rang again a few seconds later. The impatient prick that was jabbing at the button had better have some damn good news for him or he was going to be pissed, and a pissed off ex-dark hunter with sleep deprivation was not a pretty sight. He skidded across the floor, thudding against the heavy steel door and flung it open. "What?"

The man on the other side of the door was barely recognizable; his usually shaggy hair had been cut into a smart style and his face clean-shaven for the first time in years as far as Kyrian could tell. He was dressed in a tailored suit that flattered his well-muscled shoulders and the completely dapper sight made Kyrian's jaw drop. "Took you long enough. Whoa! What is that smell?"

"Nick?" Kyrian was desperately trying to process the fact that his former squire was now standing on his doorstep. Kyrian hadn't seen Nick since before Cherise had been killed and every time he'd reached out to the young man he'd had his hand slapped away so he left Nick alone. He'd felt that Nick would eventually come to his senses and reach out for the friends he knew he had. Apparently now was the time. "What are you doing here?"

"So, not a good time for you? I mean it smells like your toilets have exploded or something."

Kyrian broke into a wide grin and motioned for the other man to come in, "No, nothing that horrible. Diaper duty." Nick grinned back and stepped into the foyer of the house. He blinked in the dim light for a moment as Kyrian studied him and then grabbed him in a crushing hug. "Oh Nick, it's so good to see you."

Nick allowed himself to be swallowed into the hug for a moment, relishing the normalcy of the moment. "Easy there big guy. You're gonna break something." He shrugged and jammed his hands in his pockets. "So how are things going?"

"Great. How're you doing?" The hesitation in his voice was noticeable but it didn't seem to phase Nick any.

Suddenly the sound of a baby crying echoed down from the upstairs hallway and Nick turned his gaze upwards. "That's not Marissa is it?"

Kyrian's grin got wider and he flushed a little, "No, that's her baby brother. C'mon up and meet him will you?"

"I'd love to," Nick said as he followed behind his old boss. When they entered the nursery Nick scanned the room and saw a small boy in a crib howling for his father. He watched Kyrian walk over and pick the little boy up and cradle him in his arms as he reached for a bottle of milk that was sitting on the dresser.

Kyrian smiled down at the little boy in his arms and kissed him lightly on the head, "Nick, I'd like you to meet Nicholas." The younger man's eyes got wide and his jaw dropped as he blinked back and forth between Kyrian and the baby. He seemed to be trying desperately to find words to express the wash of feelings that he was being overwhelmed with. Kyrian decided to jump in and save his friend from the floundering that he was doing. "Do you want to hold him?"

"I…" he couldn't quite find his voice so he nodded eagerly. As Kyrian handed the little boy to him he felt his heart swell with a joy that he hadn't felt in a very long time. He suddenly remembered what it felt like to be a part of a family and it was quite a rush. "Did…is he named for me?"

Kyrian nodded and leaned against the dresser. "Yup. Hope you don't mind. You've been pretty scarce for a while so it was hard to ask."

"Oh no, I don't mind at all. I'm honored. He's gorgeous. How old is he?"

"Fourteen months. I wish you could have been here earlier." Kyrian swallowed loudly and looked away like he was trying to control his emotion. He had been so close to Nick that it had felt like a part of him was ripped away when Nick left. Of course once he'd regained his soul there really wasn't much of a point in Nick sticking around. But it had hurt him more than he could have predicted when Nick went on his anti-social downward spiral after Cherise's death.

"Well, that's over now. Get used to me raiding the refrigerator again pal." The smile on his face was slightly bashful but familiar enough to Kyrian that he took it as it was offered; truce.

"Oh god, house parties are definitely out. None of that. Kids gotta sleep." Kyrian used the humor that Nick gave him to rein in the flood of emotions he was being crushed under. "So, what've you been up to?"

"Oh a little of this, little of that. Drank myself into a stupor. Went to Vegas. Fell in love. Nothing special."

"What? You did what?"

Nick beamed at Kyrian and nodded happily, "You heard me. The most perfect woman on the planet not named Devereaux. I can't wait for you to meet her."

Kyrian hunkered down on a stool and glared at his friend, "All right, give me all of the gory details."

OoOoOo

The back door opened and Amanda walked into the kitchen to find Kyrian's back towards her. She walked up behind him and slipped her arms around his waist snuggling up behind him. "Hey baby, look who's here," he said.

She peeked her head around his broad shoulders and was startled to find Nick Gautier leaning against her counter. "Oh my god! What are you doing here?" she squealed as she skipped across the room to embrace him.

They hugged and laughed for a while and then Amanda returned to snuggling with Kyrian as she took in Nick's appearance and the fact that the men were drinking beer as they stood around chatting. Thinking that was a mighty fine idea she went to the refrigerator and grabbed one for herself. "So Nick, fill me in on everything I've missed."

"That might take a while, I'm still trying to get it all. Why don't you give her the condensed version," Kyrian chuckled.

Nick nodded and caught her up on the events of the last six months. Amanda's smile got broader than he thought was possible as he spoke and she was dancing on her toes by the time he said that he had met Lisa and fallen in love with her. "Okay, so when do we get to meet her?"

"Soon. She'll be here tomorrow. Thought I'd ease everyone into the idea first. You know, mend the fences and all that."

Amanda's face softened and she put her beer on the counter, "No fences to mend here Nick. You should know that by now. We're just glad to have you home."

OoOoOo

Katra and Sin walked down the Vegas strip happily enjoying the afternoon and giggling at the very unique humans that surrounded them. Sin was balancing Akrinea on his shoulders and the little girl was happily bouncing up and down with hanks of his hair in her fists as if she were riding a pony. Kat smiled up at her sister and wondered how much longer it would be before Sin was giving his own child a pony ride. Her hand strayed absently to her swollen stomach and she felt the baby within shift its weight.

Sin had still been in his deep depression over Zakar's death when she told him about her pregnancy and he immediately brightened and bubbled with joy. He was still mourning his twin's demise but it wasn't an overwhelming crushing grief anymore and that put her mind at ease. She'd slowly been trying to get him to return to his pervious life, enlisting the help of Damian and Kish to pry him away from the small temple he had in his room atop the casino.

Eventually he'd relented and started making time to be on the casino floor and then his mood improved enough that they'd started venturing out and seeing the sights of Vegas before Kat's belly swelled to the point that it was uncomfortable to be out and about. Then she'd suggested spending some time with Nea. She had visited a little bit in Kalosis with the girl and found that she utterly adored her sister. The little girl was full of laughter and sunshine and Kat's heart immediately melted at the sight of the little goddess.

Sin also fell under his 'niece's' spell and now he enjoyed spending time with her too. He still giggled at her words when she spoke to him in her tiny earnest voice. The little girl had so much knowledge in her head it was scary but she was still just a kid so she didn't know what to do with it all. She constantly amazed him with little tidbits of information that he had thought lost to the ages. She reminded him of his own daughter when she'd been Nea's age. Plus her lisp was absolutely adorable. She still hadn't quite managed to be able to speak around her fangs and it endeared her to him just that much more whenever she said his name.

"Uncle Thin? Can we eat thoon?"

"Sure thing kiddo. What is anyone in the mood for tonight?"

"Thrimp!" Nea immediately shouted. "Pleath? Can we have thrimp again?" She looked down at her sister with the big puppy dog eyes that she knew meant she'd get her way.

Kat looked annoyed and rolled her eyes, "Good gods child! I bet you'd eat every shrimp in Vegas if we gave you half a chance. Don't you ever get tired of it?" She huffed at her sister good naturedly, knowing full well that she would indulge Nea's every whim if she could. The little girl looked down at her sister warily and shrugged. Finally Kat couldn't hold the annoyed face any longer and she laughed deeply and grinned, "The kid wants shrimp, the kid gets shrimp. Lead us to the seafood husband!" She pointed a finger at Sin who laughed with his wife and they started off to the nearest place that would suit their needs.


	33. Chapter 33

Nick danced nervously back and forth at the gate of the airport. He hadn't been able to sit still and Kyrian had shoved him out of the seat so he could sit comfortably. He'd volunteered to take Nick to the airport to meet Lisa, mainly so he could meet her but also because Nick was so nervous that she was coming that Kyrian didn't think the man could drive. "Would you relax? She'll be here any minute."

Nick shot a glance over his shoulder and sneered at Kyrian and then turned his attention back to the arrivals board. The screens were constantly changing and finally he saw what he was looking for as the "On Time" message for Lisa's flight changed to "Arrived". He bounced in place for a second and Kyrian smothered a laugh as he rose from his seat. "All right Romeo, let's go to the gate shall we?"

The two men moved with the crowd towards the security area of the airport and Nick pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He'd told Lisa that he'd meet her at the gate but he halfway expected her to call him to ask for instructions on how to find him. Plus if somehow she managed to escape his notice he wanted her to be able to reach him. Five minutes later he was rewarded with a glimpse of her face as she walked out of the boarding ramp into the building. She scanned the crowd and spotted him, waving as she worked her way towards him. Finally breaking free of the mass of people she skipped over to him and leapt into his arms.

Kyrian watched from the edge of the crowd as his friend spun the girl around and kissed her passionately. He smiled as he thought of Amanda and his heart swelled at Nick's happiness. The boy had been through so much hardship in his life that it was good to see him elated like this. He only wished that Cherise was here to see Nick happy. Finally, the couple broke apart and Nick guided her towards where Kyrian stood with a hand at the base of her spine and a glow on his face.

Kyrian held out the bouquet of flowers that Nick had bought to the girl and grinned at her as Nick introduced her, "Lisa, I'd like you to meet my friend Kyrian Hunter. Kyrian, Lisa."

After she got over gaping at the other man's handsome appearance, they chatted as they walked to the baggage claim and Nick related how he used to work for Kyrian and how they'd gotten to be very good friends. "So Nick tells me you hit a jackpot while you were in Vegas."

"Yeah, but it wasn't that big. Just enough to pay some bills and buy a plane ticket to New Orleans."

Kyrian chuckled at her listing of priorities and nodded knowingly, "Well at least you put it to good use. Do you two have any big plans for your visit?"

Nick grinned and put an arm around her waist pulling her closer to him. "Yeah, I'm going to show her all of the highlights of the city. Still trying to entice her to move here you know?"

"Yes, and next time it's your turn to come visit me in Virginia. I still need to put in my bid to get you to relocate too."

Kyrian laughed at their banter, "Why don't ya'll compromise and move to a neutral city?"

OoOoOo

Kat tucked the blanket up under Nea's chin and reached for the light on the bed stand. "Tell me a thtory?"

Kat had been trying to get her sister to bed for an hour now and she was reaching a point of annoyance, but when Nea looked at her with sleepy eyes she knew it wouldn't be long before the little girl was asleep so it wouldn't hurt to indulge her. "Fine you brat, what do you want to hear?"

Nea chewed her lower lip for a moment and then blinked at Kat with incredibly intelligent eyes. "Tell me about Daddy."

Kat laughed at the girl's determination. Nea had been pestering Kat for a while now to tell her tales of their father's life. Kat had started telling Nea to go ask Ash herself but Nea seemed to like Kat's version better. "Don't you ever get enough of this?" She thought about the absurdity of that question for a moment when she realized how much life their father had experienced. "No, I guess you don't. Okay, what would you like to hear about tonight?"

Nea pondered the answer for a moment and then looked critically up at Kat, "Why doth your Mommy hate Daddy?"

"Oh sweetie, she doesn't hate him. They just…well, it's complicated. I guess mother wasn't always very nice to Dad. They've had a lot of misunderstanding over the years."

"Wha'th mithunderthtanding mean?" she asked with a yawn.

Kat couldn't help but chuckle at Nea's inquisitiveness. One minute the little girl was a normal happy three year old, then next she was an ancient being who knew everything that time forgot. Right now it seemed that she was just a sleepy toddler with a lisp and a grin. Kat leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, "I'll explain it to you later. Right now it's time for sleep. I love you."

"Love you too," Nea said as she snuggled down deeper in the bed. She closed her eyes and a second later they popped open again followed by the appearance of a tiny orange dragon that cooed at her and snuggled itself down on the pillow next to her and nuzzled her neck.

Kat grinned and wondered when the pterygsaura had started being her sleeping partner but decided to ask that question in the morning. She turned off the light and rose from the bed to find Sin standing in the doorway smiling at the scene before him. Kat snuggled up against his chest and they both looked over at the sleeping goddess.

"You think our kid's going to be that cute?" Sin asked softly.

"Have you met my family?" Kat joked. "Our child doesn't have a choice but to be that cute. Maybe even cuter."


	34. Chapter 34

Acheron rolled over in the massive bed and laced his long legs with his wife's. She sighed happily in her sleep and he pulled her body closer to his own, tracing the length of her thigh with his fingers and breathing in the sweet scent of her hair. Her belly was just beginning to swell with their second child and he marveled at how content he was after all of the years of misery he'd faced. Not even four years ago, if someone had asked him if he could ever imagine being this happy would he have responded positively. No, it had seemed like Fate didn't like him at all and he had lamented whatever it was that had put him in that situation.

He was happily musing about all of the things that had changed for the better when the small form of his daughter came padding into the room and launched itself onto the end of the bed. Nea giggled and bounced on the mattress for a moment as Ash looked sternly down at her. "You're supposed to be with Kat and Sin. What are you doing home?"

"Got bored," she said as she crawled up the bed to snuggle in between her parents. "Will you play with me daddy?"

"Of course honey. What would you like to do?"

Nea thought for a moment and her face brightened, "Play dollieth?" She knew that her father didn't especially enjoy playing dolls with her but he would indulge her no matter what she'd suggested. She often had that power of persuasion over the adults that surrounded her.

Phaedryn smothered a giggle and rolled over to face her husband and daughter. "I think that sounds like fun. Can I play too?"

"Of courth mommy. Will you make cookieth for me too?"

Ash winked at his wife and smiled broadly, "Yum! Mommy's cookies are the best. Maybe you girls can bake some together?"

"Oh no, you're trying to get out of playing dolls. Not gonna happen pal. I'm on cookie detail and you get to play with your daughter." She chided him but knew full well that he would eagerly do anything that Nea wanted. "Besides, as soon as I start cooking anything, Xirena's going to smell it and come and trash the kitchen again. Probably not a good idea for Nea to get in her way. You remember what happened the last time?"

Ash winced as the memory of the Charonte's tirade came flooding back to him. Xirena had just recently revealed to the household that she too was pregnant. Unfortunately for everyone that meant that she was in a wicked bad temper constantly as well as being extremely sensitive to smells. When Nea had asked Phaedryn to bake cookies they'd thought nothing of it until they accidentally burned a batch of them and Xirena had gone on a rampage in the kitchen. She'd practically destroyed that entire wing of the palace before Xiovar could calm her down. Nea had avoided the demon for a week because she was so frightened.

"You've got a point. Okay then," he smiled as he rolled out of the bed and held out a hand to Nea, "To the toy room!" Nea giggled eagerly as she leapt from the bed into her father's arms and they flashed themselves away.

Phaedryn smiled after them as she rolled towards the nightstand and waved her fingers over the cell phone that set there. She thought it wise to send a message to Kat about Nea's whereabouts before half of Las Vegas went on a search for her. They'd had enough of that kind of panic recently as Nea had discovered that she could go wherever she wanted with a thought. Eventually she and Ash would seriously have to dampen her powers before she got herself into a spot of mischief she couldn't handle, but so far they'd been lucky. Nea had limited her jaunts to places she knew and everybody was slowly getting used to reporting her location to whatever party she was _supposed_ to be with. It was certainly hard to contain an inquisitive three year old with goddess powers.

Musing about how quickly her daughter was growing and then feeling the delicate flutter of the baby that was growing in her womb she flashed on some clothing and headed for the kitchen. Danger was there sitting at the table and she smiled and waved when Phae walked in. "Morning."

"Hey Danger. How are you this morning?"

"Good. What're you up to today?"

Phaedryn began pulling cookie sheets and bowls from the various cabinets. "Nea wants cookies."

"Ah," the other woman nodded. "I still don't see why you don't just wave your magic fingers and make them appear."

Phaedryn laughed, "I told you, I like the normalcy of actually baking. It's one of my more fond memories of being human." She pulled butter and eggs out of the refrigerator and started making the dough. Danger watched as the other woman worked and they chatted about goings on.

A loud screech came from the hallway outside of the kitchen and a whirring orange cloud of tiny dragons roiled into the room. Phaedryn laughed as the pterygsauras lighted on the counter near the big bowl of cookie dough. The little creatures had discovered that they liked the sweet treat and now came at a run when they scented the dough. "Shoo! Out of the kitchen until I'm done." One of the dragons hissed at her threatening finger and she looked sternly at it. "None of that now. Get out of here or I'll let Xirena eat you." That was enough to make them move and four of the five cascaded out of the room leaving the last one looking forlornly up at Phaedryn with it's whirling yellow eyes. "You too Bob." The dragon gave one last plaintive squeak and then followed it's brethren out into the hallway.

"One of these days I'm going to figure out how you tell them apart." Danger mused.

Not long ago Nea had decided the little dragons needed names. Perhaps it was brought on by the discovery that Xirena had eaten one of them or maybe it was just a childhood desire to put words to objects. Whatever the case Nea had told Ash that the orange lizards needed names. He had laughed at her suggestion but allowed her to go ahead and pick out monikers for them. She'd sat in the throne room with the little critters clustered around her like they knew what was going on as her family stood and watched. Then she picked up each of the little creatures and stared into its eyes before bestowing a title upon it. Wibble, Blinky, Tobble, Salinas and Bob happily squawked as she announced their new names to the room and now they actually answered to the titles.

"Well, I'm constantly being scolded by a certain little girl for calling them the wrong name so I guess I've learned." Phaedryn laughed and pondered how great an influence her daughter was on her life as she put the first trays of cookies into the oven.


	35. Chapter 35

Before the first tray of cookies was even out of the oven, a very queasy looking Xirena staggered into the kitchen pinching her nose closed and trying very hard not to gag. "Why must you assault me with that stench?"

Danger hid her laughter behind the newspaper she was reading and Phae simply blinked at the demon in confusion. "What are you talking about? I didn't burn them."

Usually Xirena gleefully enjoyed Phae's cookies but apparently today the smell of them was making her nauseous, and a nauseous Charonte was definitely not good news. Xirena turned even greener and began to gag a little which panicked both Phae and Danger. No one wanted to be around a sick Charonte, including immortals and goddesses.

Phaedryn glanced over at Danger who merely shrugged at the demon's odd reaction. "I'm not sure what you mean Xirena. I thought you loved the smell of my cookies."

Before she could answer Simi poked her head into the kitchen and smirked at her sister. "She looks like the Simi does after eating rubber. The Simi is allergic to rubber you know."

Danger's expression changed rapidly from amused to concerned, and she rose from the table to go towards her husband's demonic bondmate. "Xirena, are you feeling okay?"

The green tinged Charonte started to answer but was interrupted by her heaving stomach. She doubled over in pain and violently retched several times. Phaedryn was about to come around the counter when whatever was bothering the demon finally erupted from her stomach and a wash of vile thick liquid splattered on the floor. Danger hastily backed up and lifted her feet out of range of the vomit, which was probably a good idea since it appeared to be eating through the floor like acid. Xirena heaved several more times, emptying her stomach and finally falling backwards against the wall by her sister.

"Ooo, that's gross," Simi commented from the doorway as she turned up her nose.

Xiovar poked his head into the doorway, apparently concerned by the wash of emotion his mistress was feeling. When he saw Xirena's condition he went to her side and cradled her in his arms. "Very good 'Rena, it's all over now. You may relax yourself now."

Phaedryn looked quizzically at her demon and he smiled a fang filled grin at her as he pointed into the middle of the puddle of gore. She tipped up on her toes to peer over the counter and spotted what looked like a mottled green basketball in the center of the pool of slime. "What in the hell is that?"

Xiovar sniffed in disdain at her, "That is our child."

Danger and Phaedryn both looked dumbfounded as Xiovar settled Xirena into Simi's arms and strode through the steaming pulled of slime to retrieve the green sphere. "Perhaps you two do not understand the way Charonte reproduce. This is our egg."

"Huh." Phaedryn shrugged. "That's really…um…interesting." Her lip was still curled up over the whole thing. "Sorry sweetie, but…yuck. So what now?"

Xiovar shook his head comically, "Now I tend to the egg until it hatches."

"Nice, I like that idea." Danger remarked from her perch on the table. "It's nice that the males get to do some of the work."

"It is our way," the male demon said simply as he cradled the egg in his arms.

Xirena's color was slowly returning to normal and she smiled up at Xiovar's attention to the egg. "I am glad that my part is done."

"Simi is glad too. You were not any fun at all." The little demon pouted cutely at her sister.

"Well I'm glad you feel better Xirena, Ias will be relieved. He was quite worried about you." She smiled warmly at her husband's demon and then returned her critical gaze to the mess on the floor. "So who gets to clean that up?"

OoOoOo

Ash was still playing with a very happy Nea when Phaedryn appeared in the doorway of the playroom. She smiled lovingly at her husband and daughter as they played with various dolls, acting out scenarios that Nea created. Finally she cleared her throat and Ash looked over at her, "Hey baby. What's up?"

"Nothing. Just thought I'd come see what you two were up to. Oh and Xirena…um…expelled her egg."

Ash's face went pale for a moment and he nodded, "Sorry, I should have warned everyone about that little detail. But the hard part of that is over now. Did she make a mess?"

"Well you're going to have to replace the kitchen floor but it's not too bad."

Nea looked up at her mother, "Ith 'Rena'th baby cute?"

Phaedryn grinned at her daughter. "Oh honey, the baby isn't here yet. Xirena just produced her egg. It'll be a while before we have a baby Charonte in the house."

"Well that'th no fun."

Both of the adults chuckled at her petulant remark. Nea was fascinated with the concept of having a baby to play with. She was asking Phaedryn every day how much longer until her sibling arrived and the idea of a baby Charonte excited her even more. Phae walked the rest of the way into the play room and sat down between her husband and her daughter, "Why don't you and I play for a while sweetie? I need Daddy to go fix the kitchen."

"Okay."

Ash smiled and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek before he got up and left the room. Once they were alone Phaedryn grabbed a pair of the dolls off the floor and started playing with their hair. "So, what should we do today after we're done playing with dolls?"

"What about my cookieth?"

"Well honey, the kitchen sort of got destroyed and your cookies went with it. How about if we go out and have some ice cream instead?"

"Okay, I like ith cream."

Phaedryn looked down at her daughter and waved her fingers over the little girl's head, "Say that again will you?"

"I said, I like ice cream. Hey!"

Phaedryn smiled at her daughter and nodded in approval. "Very good honey. Now, let's go get that ice cream shall we?"


	36. Chapter 36

Ash checked in on Xirena and Xiovar before heading to the wreckage of the kitchen. He smiled lovingly at the "almost parents" and shooed Simi out of the room so they could be alone for a while. Simi pouted for a brief time until Ash suggested that she go buy something for the impending baby. Then she happily skipped off to see what QVC had to offer. He congratulated the demons on their happy event and then went to see what he could do to repair the wing of the palace that used to house his wife's kitchen.

It took him some time to fix the disaster, he had to remove the Charonte vomit first and that in itself was a hazardous task. Once he'd sent the gore off to someplace it could never be found, he repaired all of the damage and made the kitchen better than before. When he was done he went back to the playroom to find his wife and child gone. Figuring that they'd probably gone off to have some 'girls time' he decided to pay a visit to the Hunters and see how they were doing.

He flashed himself into the front hallway of their house in the Garden District and was surprised to hear several voices chattering and laughing in the living room. One of the voices he didn't recognize and another one he thought he'd never hear again. He edged closer to the door of the room and tried to peek around the edge of the doorframe without being seen. However, it was at that precise moment that Amanda came out of the room and she ran smack into the immovable wall of Ash's chest.

She danced backwards in surprise and he put a finger to his lips to quiet her potential outburst. "What are you doing here?" Amanda whispered to him.

"Had a little downtime, thought I'd come visit but it sounds like it's a bad time." His face fell a little bit and she realized that he knew who was in the other room. Amanda grabbed his sleeve and tugged it to get him to follow her into the kitchen, which was where she'd been headed.

"It's actually a very good time," she said with a grin when the door had closed behind them. "You know he's here right?" Ash simply tilted his head at her and she caught a flash of his swirling silver eyes. "Yeah, right, dumb question. You should come see him Ash. He's definitely in a much better frame of mind."

"I don't think I can Amanda."

"Oh puh-lease! You can bring people back from the dead but you don't think you can go in there and say hi to Nick. You sir, are full of crap."

Ash chuckled a little at her remark. Very few people, alive or dead, would dare to say something derogatory like that to him but Amanda and her twin sister had no problem calling him on his foibles. He knew that his wife had returned Nick to human and that no one else knew about the young man's brief stint as a Dark Hunter so he didn't say anything about that. "I don't know Amanda, I think Nick is still sort of mad at me. I wasn't exactly very nice to him after…well you know."

"Huh, and I thought you knew everything. Well, you're wrong." She glared at him in the dim light of the kitchen as if she were trying to see through his dark glasses into his brain. "Nick's changed a lot Ash. Give it a shot."

He knew that when Amanda got this adamant about something there was no stopping her until you succumbed to her will. So he nodded once slowly and took a deep breath before following her out of the kitchen to the living room.

"Hey everyone, look what I found in the kitchen," Amanda joked as she walked back into the room. Everyone turned to the doorway to see Ash looking hesitantly inside.

Kyrian immediately rose from the couch and strode over to Ash's side, clapping the Altantean on the shoulder. "Ash, good to see you! Marissa's been wondering where you have been." Suddenly remembering who else was in the room with them he turned to look at Nick and was happy to see the younger man smiling. "C'mon in, let me introduce you to our guests."

Ash followed behind Kyrian, warily eyeing Nick's face. When there was no hostility to be found in his gaze he relaxed a little and stepped forward to greet his old friend. "Hey Nick, how've you been?"

Nick didn't say anything for a moment and the tension in the room amped up a few degrees. After studying Ash's face for a moment Nick's mouth split into a beaming grin and he leaned forward to embrace his old friend. "It's good to see you man," He said after a manly hug. "Hey, I'd like you to meet the woman I love," Nick said casually as he turned to face the blushing woman that had been sitting next to him on the couch. "Ash, this is Lisa Peters, Lisa, Acheron Parthenopaeus."

Ash looked at the woman as she rose from the couch to shake his hand and he suddenly knew what Phaedryn had been up to recently, he could feel his wife's touch all over this young woman. Knowing that this was her 'home improvement' project he smiled broadly. "It is an honor to meet the woman that won Nick's heart."

That instantly put Lisa's mind at ease and she giggled as she shook his hand, "It's my pleasure. Nick's told me a lot about you."

Ash quirked an eyebrow at Nick and tilted his head, smiling but not flashing fang, "I assume none of it was good."

"Are you kidding?" Lisa laughed, "He thinks you're a god!"


	37. Chapter 37

Phaedryn scraped the last of the chocolate sauce out of her sundae dish and pushed it away from her as Nea worked diligently at her own sundae. "Is that good?" The little goddess grinned and nodded enthusiastically at her mother as she shoveled another huge scoop into her mouth. "That's one of the perks of this job kiddo, you get to eat what you want and not have to worry about calories and all that garbage. So what should we do after this?"

Nea pondered for a moment and her face brightened under all of the wayward chocolate, "Can we go to the zoo?"

"Of course we can," Phaedryn laughed. "Which one would you like to go to?"

"Can we go to the one with that cute baby panda?"

"Absolutely. Washington it is. Now finish your ice cream up and we'll go."

Suddenly Nea's face turned deadly serious, "Mommy? Can we go visit Yana after?"

Phaedryn blanched at that, "Well honey, you see…your grandmother and I don't get along very well. Can you wait until Daddy can take you to see her?"

"Why don't you get along? She's very nice. Did you have a misunderstanding?"

Phaedryn couldn't help but laugh at that, "No baby, there was no misunderstanding. She just doesn't like me very much. Maybe because your Daddy fell in love with me when he shouldn't have. I don't really know the reason behind it but she just doesn't like me."

"Maybe if you talk to her you'll get along more. And then she'll like you too. She should like you so we can be a family."

"Sweetie, I wish it was that easy. Unfortunately, your grandmother did something to me a long time ago that I just can't forgive." She noticed the critical stare her daughter was giving her and she flinched a little, no three year old should have to know that their grandmother once killed their mother. 

"What did Yana do to you that was so bad?"

Phaedryn thought about how to answer that without upsetting Nea. She and Ash had promised each other not to evade the truth with their child if they could avoid it. Plus Nea had an uncanny ability of knowing when the entire truth wasn't being presented. "Well honey, your grandmother killed me. It was a very long time ago and a lot has changed since then, but she tried it again a while ago and I'm sorry, but I just can't forgive her for that," she said in a rush. 

The little girl thought about that for a moment and her mother could see her frown increase as the reality of it dawned on her. "That was very mean of her, but I guess it makes sense. I would be mad at her if she killed me too." She pushed the dirty sundae dish away from her and got up from her chair. "Okay, we can go to the zoo now." 

The transition between sage goddess and happy toddler amazed Phaedryn one more time and she took her daughter's hand and flashed them off to the zoo. 

OoOoOo

Ash leaned over and kissed Amanda on top of her head. He'd truly enjoyed the warmth of the evening and she could tell by the happy aura that surrounded him. "I'm so glad you two got to talk Ash. And I'm really glad that Nick is happy."

"I am too. I thank whatever power it was that put Lisa into his path." He smirked a little knowing exactly who the power that was responsible was, but he certainly wouldn't tell anyone about it.

Kyrian walked back up onto the porch from saying his goodbyes to Nick and Lisa and he wrapped a loving arm around his wife's slender waist. "So, is it over between you two?"

Ash looked over the tops of his glasses at his friend, "You'd have to ask him that. I'd say I'm over it but well…she's like my daughter. But it's the past and that's where it needs to stay."

Kyrian nodded once as if that was the final word on the subject and clapped a hand on Ash's arm, "Then I don't think you have anything to worry about. Nick's head seems to be in a very good place right now. I think Lisa was the cure to all that ailed him."

"Oh you're most definitely correct about that. It's like a totally different Nick. And a very nice one at that," Amanda murmured as she snuggled into Kyrian's embrace. 

Ash smiled at his friends warmly, the love they shared made him feel his humanity welling in his heart and it thrilled him to know that such a powerful love could still exist between modern folk. With all of the wars and heartache that plagued humanity these days it was refreshing to find two people so perfectly matched that they could take comfort in just being near each other. Even when the hurricane had hit New Orleans, they'd done their part, slogging through murky water that hid gods only knew what in it to help other people to safety. Amanda had balked something fierce at Kyrian's insistence that she and Tabby follow the kids to a safe place inland. She had argued with him for hours about not wanting to leave his side. Eventually it had taken Ash threatening the sisters to make them leave and it was still very grudgingly that they went. 

"Well, I'll let you two have the rest of the night to yourselves. It was good seeing you. Tell Marissa that I'm sad that I missed her."

"You can stay if you want Ash, you know you're always welcome here," Kyrian said as Amanda nodded her agreement. 

"No," he said with a grin that flashed a brief glint of fang, "I've got someplace to be. You kids have a good night." He tilted his head in a half bow and flashed himself away into the night. 


	38. Chapter 38

Nea was supposed to be taking a nap but it wasn't working. Her mommy kept insisting that she lay down and stop having fun, but she didn't want to. After all, she was nearly four and she didn't think she needed naps anymore. She could probably get up and play quietly with her toys in her room for a while before her mommy or Danger came in to check on her. She rolled over carefully so she wouldn't disturb Bob who was curled around one of her stuffed animals next to her head. Looking around the room, none of the toys that were carefully stacked on the shelves or by the big bin appealed to her. No, all of the good toys were in the playroom and she certainly couldn't sneak into there without someone finding her very quickly. Sighing a little pouty breath she wondered how much longer she was going to be forced to pretend to be napping. She thought very hard about how long it had been since Mommy had tucked her in and kissed her on the head and she realized that she would be expected to remain here for at least another hour. That, in her opinion, was a wasted hour that she could be playing in, or at the very least exploring someplace new. 

She pondered for a few more seconds before thinking of something that would be much more fun than laying here being bored. So she carefully arranged another stuffed animal next to the one that Bob was curled around so the little dragon wouldn't wake up and alert her mother to her absence, then she smiled happily and flashed herself away. 

OoOoOo

"Hello?" Nea called softly into the darkness of the cave as she edged farther into the gloom. "Are you here?"

She really didn't like being here without a big person to make sure she didn't bump into anything and the dark kind of scared her a little bit still, even though she'd never tell mommy or daddy that. She was about to turn around and go back to her bedroom when she heard the soft, rich chuckle of the tall man come from the darkness. He seemed to emerge from the mist, like he really was the mist and it swirled together to make his body. "Hello little one. I didn't think I'd see you here again. What brings you to my domain?"

Nea blinked in the darkness and tapped her little foot with impatience as she glared upwards at him. "I can't see you."

He chuckled again, a warm rich sound that made her think of her daddy, "Very well." Then he waved his hand and the room gradually lightened as if he had turned on a dim light bulb. "Now, what is the reason for your visit?"

Nea chewed her lower lip for a moment wondering if it had been a good idea to come here. No one knew where she was and if one of her parents happened to check her room they would panic and that was _not_ a good thing. However, her curiosity got the better of her and she toddled over to a low rock ledge and climbed up on it. "Why did you ask me so many questions the last time I was here?"

He raised a black eyebrow at her in question and sat beside her on the rock, "I wish to know you better. I mean no harm to you."

She looked up at him in the dim light and studied his face for a long time. She knew she'd seen him before, somewhere, way deep down in her mind she had a faint memory of his face but she couldn't figure out where it came from. "Why do you want to talk to me?"

He snorted once as if the idea of speaking to a child amused him terribly, "Oh, little one, so many reasons. I once was a friend of your grandmother's and over the years we lost touch with each other. I miss her terribly and I thought that if I talked to you it would be like spending time with her again."

"Why don't you just go see her? She's right over there," she asked pointing a short finger in the direction of Apollymi's garden. 

Now the man looked sad, "I wish I could dear one, but I have been forbidden from ever seeing anyone from my past again. That is why I am here. I can't ever leave and I can't ever see anyone from outside. I am trapped here."

Akrinea nodded as if she understood what he was telling her even though she didn't. Grownups were so very complicated. "So no one can visit you but me?"

"It seems that way. So I asked you questions to find out how my old friend is. Is that all right with you?"

"Sure!"

OoOoOo

It was nearly an hour later when she cut him off with a chubby hand on his elbow. "I have to go home now. If mommy finds out I'm gone she'll be very angry."

The tall dark man laughed softly at her innocence, "I understand. If she is anything like your grandmother, that would be very troubling to us all if she became angry. Will you come visit with me again?"

"Okay. But I have to wait until no one will notice me being here. If they find out about you they will be upset. I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"That is very good advice little one. But, we can remedy that right now." He held out his hand to her and smiled broadly. "I am Misos."

"My name is Akrinea, but everyone calls me Nea."

"It is an honor to meet you dear lady," he said with a sweeping bow. "Now, let's get you home before we both get in trouble. Thank you very much for visiting me Nea. I look forward to seeing you again."

Nea smiled up at his handsome face, she liked this man for some reason. He seemed very friendly and it was a lot more fun talking to him than napping. Plus something about him intrigued her so she nodded at him and flashed herself back into her room. She shuffled around her room for a minute and then decided that she'd been pretending to nap long enough. She wandered out of the room and went down the hall to Simi's room where she heard the TV blaring out the latest QVC deal and she giggled as she skipped inside and plopped down on the bed next to the young demon who had her head hanging off the edge of the bed and her feet planted above her on the wall. 

"Hi Simi! Anything good on today?"

"No, but Diamonique time is soon. The Simi needs more Diamonique because Akri won't let Simi eat anything fun." The little demon rolled over and stretched her wings out over her head, flapping them a little and blowing a soft breeze at the little goddess. "Akri better get you some sparklies soon too. You's getting big and big girls need sparklies." Her face brightened and she grinned a toothy and wicked grin. "Simi's gonna buy you some sparklies. Pooh on Akri, he mean for not buying you some. Simi take good care of Gapi." Nea smiled and hugged Simi tightly, she loved this little demon and she couldn't wait to have her own Charonte to play with. 

They settled in and watched QVC together for a while until Ash came looking for her. He stood in the doorway of Simi's room smiling at his daughter and the demon that he thought of as a daughter. The glee on their faces as they watched the big screen TV with delight made his heart melt and he thanked the powers in charge of the universe for the blessings he'd received. "Well, this can't be good. You two together like this is usually the first sign of a coming apocalypse."

"Da-ddy! It is not." Nea said petulantly as she got up from the bed and skipped over to leap into his arms for a hug. She kissed his cheek wetly and snuggled her face into his neck delighting in the unique "daddy" scent of him. "Can I stay and watch with Simi?"

Ash chuckled at his daughter's subtle manipulation and looked sternly first at her, then at Simi. "Okay, but you have to promise me one thing. Don't go overboard, there's plenty of time to buy things, let's not wear ourselves out all in one day. Okay?" He waited for the girls to agree to his request. Nea nodded first with a grin and another sloppy kiss. 

Simi however, was not as easy to convince, "Oh pooh Akri. You never let the Simi have any fun. Simi never gets to eat cows anymore. And Simi certainly can't eat the red-headed heifer goddess and that's just wrong. That heifer needs a good chompin." Ash didn't say anything, just looked sternly at his demon and tapped his foot a little. "Fine. You no fun Akri."

Ash put Nea back down on the floor and she ran back to her place beside Simi on the bed. Then he turned to leave, "Limits Sim, we talked about them before. Try to remember. Please?"

Simi grunted and turned the volume on the TV up. Nea was curious about why Daddy never let Simi have any fun though and she decided to ask about it. "Simi? What do you mean when you say Daddy never lets you have fun? I mean you can watch TV all day and you can eat whatever you want and no one makes you take naps or baths. Why isn't it fun?"

Simi thought about the little girl's question for a moment, one eye still trained on the TV, "Oh Simi's got no complaints. Well, Akri really ought to let Simi eat that mean old cow but Akri is good to his Simi. Simi's got sparklies and her own credit card thingy. Plus Akri let's Simi go to Sanctuary and have barbecue. Oh! And Akri takes Simi to Dragon Con, that's lots of fun. Akri says that Simi blends, whatever that means. Simi doesn't blend, the Simi is _unique_. Quality demon you know?"

Nea giggled at the demon's words. Simi's speech pattern was amusing to her and she smiled as she heard her mother's voice in her head. _"Simi is very certain that the entire universe was put here for her amusement, and it's probably best to just let her think that."_ Then something that Simi had said tickled her mind a little and a question popped out of her mouth, "Who's the heifer goddess and why can't you eat her? I mean if she's bad then she should be punished right? That's what mommy and daddy do to me."

"That's what the Simi keeps telling Akri! That heifer needs to be eated. Maybe just a little. Then she would be a whole lot nicer to Akri."

The little girl thought about that answer for a moment and puzzled through all of the information she had received from various people. "Wait, do you mean Kat's mommy?"

"Yup," Simi said simply. 

Akrinea wondered what it was about Kat's mommy that made everyone not like her. She pondered that problem for a bit but then got distracted by Simi's squeal when the TV announcer said that Diamonique hour was up next and she turned her attention back to the TV. 


	39. Chapter 39

Ash chuckled under his breath as he walked away from Simi's room. Nea was certainly enamored of the little demon and it amused him to no end that Simi treated Nea like a little sister. He knew that he had nothing to worry about leaving Nea alone with Simi, eventually she'd get tired of Simi's shopping habits and leave to find something more exciting to do. He wandered around the palace for a while aimlessly, stopping on the balcony that overlooked the cliffs above the sea for a while and letting the breeze lift his hair from his shoulders. Then he sat in the throne room for a while strumming his guitar but that quickly grew old as well. 

Wondering where Phaedryn was, he headed for the kitchen, she could usually be found there. For some reason she insisted on spending a large part of her time there, saying that it made her feel at home. He walked into the newly reconstructed room and found here there at the massive table in the center of the room hunched over her laptop. "Whatcha doing babe?" 

When she didn't answer him, he walked around to her side of the table and saw that she had earphones in and she was nodding her head in time to whatever she was listening to as she tapped away at the keys. He waved a hand in front of her face and she looked up at him with a big smile. "Hey honey. What's up?" she asked in a loud voice. He gently pushed her hair back from her ears and took the earphones out so she could hear him. She looked sheepishly at them and realized that she had probably been yelling at him. "Oh, sorry."

"What are you so engrossed in?" Ash asked as he put the earphones up to his own ears. The lilting strains of violins and a deep resonant flute floated out and he smiled in appreciation of his wife's taste in music. "That's nice. What is it?"

"Battlestar Galactica soundtrack. Bear McCreary's the composer, guy's a genius." She grinned at him and pulled the plug on the headphones out so they could both hear the music. "Bride swears up and down that Battlestar is the best show that's ever come down the pike. Eventually I'm going to have to relent and watch it." She smirked a little and shook her head, "I just can't get past the memory of the cheese-fest that the 70's version was. But Otto says it's nothing like the old show and I should give it a chance so I guess that sells it."

Ash smiled at her as she rambled and enjoyed the music, "Well, if Otto says it's good then it certainly must be. I mean he is the one with the degree in that stuff. Alright, work your magic wife, and let's watch that show."

Phaedryn raised an eyebrow at him, "Otto has a degree?"

Ash chuckled softly, "More than one." He leaned down and kissed her tenderly then looked at the open laptop in front of her. "You causing problems on the board again?"

She laughed and shook her head, "No, just checking up on the Daimons." She rolled her eyes in jest, "You know my husband, he's all gung ho about keeping the buggers in line. Thought I'd see what the hunters were saying about recent surges and whatnot."

"How is Otto these days?" Ash asked as he pulled a chair out from the table and spun it around so he could straddle it. 

"Good. He's finally settled in with Caedmon and that seems to be working out." She stopped typing and flipped her hair over her shoulder as she turned to look at him, "What made you assign Otto to someone? I thought he was done with that after Valerius."

Ash put his hands up in front of him defensively, "I had nothing to do with it. You've gotta talk to the Squire Council about that." He knew that Otto and Phaedryn got along very well, much like he and Nick had at one time, but there was also the strong possibility that Otto had a crush on his wife, so he accepted the relationship with a healthy dose of caution. "So you looking for something to do or just looking?"

"Mainly just looking, but if an opportunity presents itself I won't say no."

"Oh yes you will," he countered in a stern, yet loving voice. "I'm not about to let you go running into something that could harm our baby. You should know that by now Sati."

"Fine, I'll just sit here and be "M" shall I?" She looked mad at him for a moment but couldn't hold the anger for long. "You are infuriating you know? Besides, I should be out in the field now of all times. I mean I am the perfect bait right now."

Ash leaned over on his chair and slung his arm across her shoulder pulling her head down on to his shoulder, "I know you are. And I know you can take care of yourself but you know that I'm an old fashioned kind of guy and I'm not about to let anything happen to you or the baby. So, no Daimon baiting, no fighting, no stress until the baby's here. Please?" He put a hand over hers and laced their fingers together, rubbing a thumb along the edge of her wedding ring. "Oh by the way, I met your 'home improvement project' last night. Brilliant job."

"What were you doing at Nick's?"

"I wasn't at Nick's. They were visiting Kyrian and Amanda. I stopped by to say hello to Marissa and ran into them there."

"And?"

"And what?" He looked down at her face and knew what she wanted from him. Grinning at her he said, "We talked a little. I think we're past it now."

"It's about time. You two are so stubborn it's scary. So, what do you think of her?"

"I don't think you should have manipulated them like that but it looks like a pretty perfect match to me."

She nodded and smiled, "They would have met each other eventually, I just sped it up a little bit. And they are a perfect match. That's what I do you know?" She tapped a few more keys on the laptop and then turned it off. "So, got any plans today?"

"No. What do you have in mind?"

"Mmm, you, me, popcorn and Battlestar?"

He grinned at her salaciously, "Goddess, I love the way you think."


	40. Chapter 40

Akrinea was bored again. It seemed to her like much of her life was spent being bored. And she seriously couldn't understand why. After all, she was a goddess and she could do what she wanted so why did she have to listen to Mommy and Daddy and all of those boring rules they told her to follow? What fun was that?

Sighing loudly she got up off the floor of the toy room and went looking for something to do. Simi wasn't around today, Daddy must have her on his arm again, so that meant no QVC or dress up. Xirena kept saying she was sick and needed to spend time with the egg. Xiovar spent _all_ of his time with the silly thing and that meant he was no fun anymore. Maybe Danger or Lexi would play with her. Wandering off towards their end of the palace she heard a TV playing in the throne room. She poked her head around the corner and saw Mommy and Daddy cuddling on a couch watching something that had a lot of explosions and a pretty lady in a red dress on it. That looked pretty interesting to her so she went into the room and stood off to one side of the TV so she wouldn't upset Daddy. He didn't like it when she blocked the TV. 

"Ooo no honey. This really isn't a good show for you to be watching," Phaedryn said rising from the couch. "Why don't we find you something to do?"

Knowing that if Mommy found out that there was no one watching her she wouldn't let her leave sight of an adult and that meant no fun. "Oh, I'm playing in the toy room Mommy. I just wanted to give you and Daddy a hug. Bob told me to."

"Oh he did now? Well thank you," she said as she hugged her daughter tightly and then passed the little girl to her father. "You know how much I love hugs from you."

Once she'd given Daddy a big hug and kiss she got back down and left the room with a little wave to her parents who went back to watching whatever was on the TV. She toddled back to the toy room and carefully closed the door behind her, that way if anyone came past they wouldn't investigate the fact that there was no adult watching her. She sat at the table in the corner and drew a picture with crayons for a few minutes until she got bored again. Looking around the multitude of toys she saw nothing that would keep her occupied. What she craved was someone to talk to. 

Then she remembered where she could find someone that really liked to talk to her and she flashed herself off to Misos' cave. 

OoOoOo

"So why did they put you here? It doesn't make any sense to me."

Misos chuckled low in his throat; it amused him terribly to be able to speak to Akrinea. She reminded him so much of not only Apollymi as a young woman but of his own wife and children. This little goddess had the majority of the Atlantean pantheon's personalities all rolled into one adorable little package and it made him feel as if the ancient city was still alive and prosperous. "Well little one, it's a very long story. I wouldn't want to bore you with it." He knew that that little tease would intrigue her and make her stay longer, further facilitating his plan for escape. 

"S'okay, I like stories. Tell me?"

He studied her face for a moment and then nodded as he relented. "Very well. A long, long time ago, when Atlantis was the height of civilization, I was not looked upon as a very friendly god."

Nea giggled at this and asked, "Why not? You're very nice to me."

"Yes, well time has mellowed me a great deal. Anyway, I upset a lot of the other gods of the day. They did not take to kindly to my antics and they banished me to Kalosis."

"But that's where Yana lives. It's nice there."

Misos looked sternly at her, "Are you going to keep interrupting me or are you going to allow me to tell this story?" He waited for her to nod her assent carefully before he continued. "Yes dear, Kalosis is where your grandmother lives and it is very nice in parts of it. However, when the Greek pantheon decided that they would take our power for themselves, much changed. Without the Atlantean pantheon in power Kalosis became a very dark and evil place. As the darkness of it grew the Greeks began to dislike it more and more. They really do not like what they do not understand. So they turned their backs on Kalosis and the inhabitants of it. By that time the war between the pantheons had begun and several of the Atlanteans, including myself and your grandmother fought the Greeks with a great amount of gusto. As the Greeks stole more and more of our power they changed much of our world, shaping it to suit their own needs. Kalosis became a place of punishment for us and several of the Atlanteans were banished here by the Greeks. When your grandmother was locked away by the remainder of the Atlantean gods for the destruction she wrought on the world, the Greeks sealed her in twofold by placing their own cursed wards on the seals."

Nea looked confused as she tried to follow Misos' story. She'd been told a lot of the history of Atlantis by her father and her grandmother and she understood a lot of it but there were still some parts that made no sense to her. For one thing, she couldn't understand why the Greeks and the Atlanteans couldn't get along. 

"You look confused little one. What don't you understand?"

"I don't get why the Greek gods were mean to you. Why couldn't you get along?"

Misos laughed heartily at the innocence behind that question. "Oh child, that is a very good question. You see, gods are very greedy creatures by nature. They always want more power, more riches, more beauty, simply more of everything. It is very hard for gods of different pantheons to agree upon things as each group thinks themselves better than the other. When the Greek gods came into power the Atlantean civilization had already passed its peak. We had bred with other cultures and there were very few pure Atlanteans left to foster the gods. Humanity took their worship to the Greek gods and the Greeks gained more power so it was easy for them to banish us to the nether regions. They started with the most powerful of us, your grandparents and myself. When they sealed me in here it was the Greeks that did the spell and they made sure that no one of my pantheon could ever release me. So here I am, lost to time and memory. No one even knows I'm here any more except you."

"So you can't ever leave?"

He shook his head sadly, "Not unless Zeus decides to release me, and I think that by now he's forgotten all about me. That is why I relish your visits. You remind me so much of your grandmother that it makes me feel as if I am with my family again."

Nea scooted over close to him and wrapped her tiny arms as far around his waist as she could reach, "I'm very sorry they are mean to you." She hugged him for a long time, patting his back like her parents did to her when she was upset. Then she leaned back with a bright smile as if she'd just thought of something wonderful, "I know what to do! I'll tell Kat to make her mommy let you go."

Misos looked critically at her trying to figure out what on earth she was talking about. "Who is Kat?"

"My sister. Her mommy is Greek."

Not understanding the full nuance of what the little goddess was telling him he tried to let her down gently, "Well, that's a very nice thought dearest, but it would take Zeus himself to release me. Thank you though."

Nea pouted a little at that, she liked Misos because he paid attention to her and if he were someplace more accessible to her it would be nice. "But Kat's mommy can let you go! Kat says that her mommy can do anything she wants. Even my Daddy listens to her. Well, not all the time, but he tries to not make her angry."

Now Misos was intrigued by her offer, "Dear one, who is this Kat's mother?"

"Well Simi calls her the red-headed heifer Goddess. I don't know what her real name is."

"No matter child, I know exactly who you are speaking of," he said with a wicked gleam in his eye. His memories of the Greek pantheon were very faded with the amount of time he'd been kept captive but that was one goddess he'd never forget. 


	41. Chapter 41

"Okay, you win. I'm hooked," Ash laughed as Phaedryn got up to change the disc in the player. They had been watching this show for several hours now, both completely engrossed in the intricacies of the plot and characters. 

"Well, it's only fair you know. You hooked me on Dexter, I hook you on this. What goes around right?" She switched the disc and returned to her spot by his side and reached for the remote. 

"Wait, before you start a new one," he cocked his head to one side as if he were listening for something. "How long has it been since we saw her?"

Phaedryn thought for a moment and suddenly looked slightly panicked, "Way too long." She didn't run towards the toy room but she moved as fast a worried mother and she flung open the door to find Nea crumpled in a heap amongst her stuffed animals, sleeping soundly with Bob the pterygsaura perched on her shoulder. Ash peered over her shoulder and sighed happily as he looked down at his sleeping daughter. "Should we leave her here?" Phaedryn whispered. 

"Why not? She's comfortable. She'll come find us when she wakes up." He watched the little girl breathe for a few more seconds and then pulled his wife into a hug, kissing her on the top of her head before returning to the throne room. They were greeted by the sound of his cell phone trilling insistently at him. He rolled his eyes at the infernal contraption but flipped it open anyway. "What?" He listened to the person on the other end of the call for a moment nodding and grimacing. "All right, I'm on my way."

"Who is it this time?" 

"Patrice and Ramon seem to have found something out of the ordinary in Rio. They think it's dangerous so they asked for some backup. Don't wait up for me okay?"

"Out of the ordinary?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow. "More out of the ordinary than immortal soulless hunters that keep the soul sucking vampires from snacking on the tourists?"

Ash chuckled, "You know, the job kind of loses some of the mystery when you put it that way." He kissed her tenderly and straightened back up, flashing street clothes onto his body. "I'll be back as soon as I can. Love you."

OoOoOo

What he found in Rio was not at all what the hunters had told him about. They'd suggested to him that there was a demon of some sort roaming about causing massive mounts of destruction and killing a few very unlucky people that had stumbled across it's path. Unfortunately, it was quite difficult to track anything in the tightly packed favelas in the hills of the city. Ash split the area that the creature had last been spotted in between himself, the two hunters and their squires but it still took several hours of tracking to find the beast. 

He was searching near a run down church when he heard the ruckus coming from a few streets over. His cell phone rang shortly afterwards and he saw on the display that it was Ramon's squire so he flashed himself to where he thought the disturbance was coming from. When he arrived he found Nico, the squire, cowering behind a vehicle as something massive tore through a small warehouse. He hunched down beside the young man and directed his attention to where Nico was pointing. 

What he saw surprised him. The huge shape that was ransacking the building was dark in color and he grimaced as a crate of something obviously breakable crashed to the ground making him think of the proverb about the bull in the china shop. That analogy was more correct than he'd first thought when the creature's head came into view and the minotaur bellowed it's rage into the night. 

"What is it?" the squire whispered as he kept one eye on the warehouse and fumbled with his cell phone in the dark to call his boss. His action was cut short when the two men spied the broken body of Ramon tucked under the minotaur's massive arm. Ash winced in sympathy and wondered briefly if there was any way he could rescue the hunter's soul now. 

"Something I haven't seen in a very long time." Ash replied as he rose carefully from his spot behind the car. The beast spotted him soon and crashed it's way towards where he stood. Greek monsters never had liked the Atlanteans and this one was no exception. Of course, that's what Ash was counting on as he hoped to draw the creature out into the open so he could send it back to wherever it came from. The bloody red eyes of the monster bored holes in him as it advanced, trashing the building as it barreled through the obstacles before it. Ash raised his hand to zap it with a godbolt but before he could, the bull headed creature vanished. 

He was studying the ruins of the building when his cell phone trilled again and he flipped it open to hear Patrice's upset voice chattering away on the other end. "Whoa, slow down, there Patrice. You saw what? Okay, I'll be there in a minute." He sighed as he flipped the phone closed, verified that Nico was all right and flashed himself across the city. 

He found Patrice at the edge of the harbor staring into the night across the water. The Dark Huntress was unusually pale and that startled him a little. But what clinched his shock was the massive tentacle that was wrapping itself around a barge in the water. "What the frak is that?"

Patrice glanced over at him and shook her head in confusion, "I haven't got a clue." They watched the tentacle slide up over the top of the deck like it was searching for something. When it found nothing that interested it on the deck it continued wrapping itself around the barge and began squeezing it like a toy. Then another tentacle slithered up beside the first and joined in the mayhem. 

Ash was about to try blasting it with a godbolt when a massive head broke the surface of the water and roared at them. It looked like a cross between an octopus and a bird, a huge raptor like beak dominating it's face. The monster spied Ash standing on the dock and it flailed one of it's tentacles in his direction and then slid back into the depths of the night dark water. 

"I…what…?" Patrice stammered as she stared after the creature's wake. 

"Me neither, but I have an idea. Keep an eye open for more of them and call me if you see anything…odd." Ash said before flashing himself away. 


	42. Chapter 42

He arrived in the outer court of Artemis' temple on Olympus and, per usual, the handmaidens scattered at his appearance. He strode through the women's panicked flight and flung open the door of the main temple. "Artie! Get your ass out here."

A flutter of wings near the balcony drew his attention for a moment, but he had more important things to concern himself with and he continued on through the temple searching for the wayward goddess. He found nothing in the throne room and stormed his way through the marble halls calling her name. Again the wings fluttered near the balcony but this time the sound was followed by the soft hooting of an owl. Ash's gaze slid to the marble railing where Athena's owl was perched looking at him with a curious gaze. 

"You can't find her either?" he asked it, not expecting an answer. 

The owl however, being the personification of wisdom, hooted again and stretched out a wing towards the main palace of Olympus on the top of the hill. It trilled another short burst and bobbed it's head up and down several times and then flapped it's wings and launched itself towards Ash's head. He ducked under the bird's massive wingspan and watched as it circled the room twice and then flew out over the forest below Artemis' balcony. The bird floated on the air currents for a while, circling back to the balcony where Ash stood watching it and then it headed for it's home in Athena's temple. "Right, I get it," Ash mumbled and made his way towards Athena's temple. 

OoOoOo

He poked his head into the marble doorway of the smaller temple across the hill, trying not to attract unwanted attention. If Zeus found him here there would be hell to pay and he really didn't want to be in the middle of that fiasco so he was being cautious. He noted the owl sitting on its perch beside the altar basking in the gentle clouds of incense that hovered there. The owl's yellow eyes found him and it hooted once softly. He was about to shush the bird when a rustling of linen behind the altar announced the presence of Athena. 

"You're slow on the uptake today Acheron," she said as she strode around the altar towards him. "I expected you several hours ago."

He didn't understand what she was talking about so he merely shrugged. The Greek gods hated him as well as the rest of the Atlantean pantheon, so he wasn't sure why his presence was accepted by Athena, much less, expected. "You'll have to excuse my confusion, I've just watched one of my Hunters die and two monsters I thought I'd never see again run amok in a heavily populated city. So I'm not quite sure why that is."

She smiled at him as she placed more incense on the altar and waved the fragrant smoke towards her face. "You want answers don't you? Well, you're not going to find any in Artie's temple, that's for sure. Yeesh." She stroked the owl's feathers as it sat on the perch and bobbed its head at her. "You know for a god that's older than I am, you can be pretty dense some days."

"Whoa, hang on a minute there," Ash said defensively. 

Athena's perfect bow shaped lips pulled up into a broad smile and she laughed at his expression. "Calm down Ash, I'm kidding. You know, your family never did have a sense of humor." She motioned for him to follow her as she walked around the back of the altar and disappeared behind the velvet curtain that hung there. He followed her cautiously and found her in a small courtyard with a burbling fountain in the middle of it. "Well c'mon, let's get this over with. Daddy's expecting me."

He made his way cautiously over to her and stared down at her pretty face. She could see the question on his lips and she nodded as she pondered it. Then she motioned for him to lean over next to her and he did carefully. "I haven't got a clue," Athena whispered in his ear. 

"Huh?"

Athena looked flustered at having to repeat that little bit of information. "I said, I haven't got a clue. You know, the minotaur and the kraken? I don't know who's behind it. I'll check around though and as soon as I figure it out I'll let you know."

"You know, sometimes you're a darn scary woman."

She laughed softly; "Yeah, but I've got nothing on your mother. Oh, and don't tell anyone that I didn't have an answer for you. You know that whole "goddess of wisdom" reputation thing and all that," she said dismissively waving her hand. 

"Right. Okay, thank you Athena." He wandered back into the temple still trying to process the answers, or lack of them, that she'd given him. 


	43. Chapter 43

Phaedryn had no luck finding answers for him either. When Ash had returned to Artemis' temple she still wasn't there so he left and returned to Katoteros. He related the events of the night to his wife and she pondered the strange appearances of the monsters for a few minutes before giving up and calling Savitar. Of course he'd been busy surfing, as usual, and he knew nothing about the occurrences. He did tell her that he'd keep his ears open and if he heard any stirrings about the monsters he'd contact her immediately. 

"I don't know what to tell you Sati," she said after talking to her brother. "Maybe you could try asking Kratos? I mean it is his territory after all."

He winced at the mention of the Cthonian who patrolled the South American continent. There was bad blood between the two of them and Ash really didn't want to cross Kratos' path if at all possible. "Would you mind talking to him? He doesn't really like me that much."

She quirked an eyebrow at him and asked, "What'd you two butt heads about?"

"Long story," he mumbled, avoiding the explanation. "Please?"

She rolled her eyes at him and huffed, "Men, you all really need to get over yourselves, you know? Fine. Lemme see what I can find out."

OoOoOo

It took her a while to find Kratos. When the Cthonians didn't want to be found they weren't, but she did have an advantage over normal folk that may be looking for them. She let her consciousness wander the continent, searching for the faint traces of his presence that would escape even the most thorough scrubbing he did. Eventually she felt the miniscule echoes of his well-shielded mind in Bolivia and she flashed herself to the small village he was sitting in. She approached him cautiously since he'd never seen her before; she'd always been a spirit when his visits to Neratiti coincided with hers but he should know her by name. 

He glanced up and saw nothing more than a beautiful woman nearing the shabby table he sat at in front of a cantina. He grinned at her and she smiled back, flashing a polished grin that was as non-threatening as she could muster. He motioned her over with a smirk and a leer and she played along, seating herself at his table. "Hello pretty lady. May I buy you a beer?"

"You can, but I'd rather you just answer some questions for me."

His eyes went wide and she could feel his power flare before she pushed it back down into him. When his eyes began to bleed over to a fiery red she put a soft hand on top of his calloused one and smiled at him, "Relax Kratos, I'm Phaedryn." She projected exactly who and what she was to him and he backed down in his chair a little. "Thank you. Now, may I ask you some questions?"

"Of course my lady, whatever your heart desires," he responded with a nod of his head that could have been a bow if he was standing up.

She couldn't help but snort at his statement, "Oh, if only my brother and my husband thought like that. I'd be a damn happy woman." She turned in her seat and motioned for the man behind the small rough-hewn bar to bring them two beers and she waited for him to leave as she studied the Cthonian's face. "What do you know about some very strange goings on in Rio?" she asked in a low voice.

Now it was Kratos' turn to snort at her in amusement, "You don't get out to Rio very often do you? Honey, there's nothing _but_ strange there. Could you be more specific?" 

Phaedryn sipped her beer and glanced around to see if anyone nearby was listening, "How about a kraken and a minotaur?" she whispered. The Cthonian's eyes went wide; he obviously hadn't been expecting her to say that. "Yeah, surprised me too. So? Any ideas?"

Kratos swallowed half of his beer and motioned for the man behind the bar to bring two more, "I'd like to tell you that I've got an answer but the best I can tell you is that I'll look into it and that you should ask the Greeks. If it were something else I'd say check with whatever pantheon they came from, but, well you get the idea. Since they are just Greek creatures then they have to have come from one of the Greeks."

Phaedryn nodded and the anger washed across her face slowly, "I figured you'd say something like that. Keep me posted on anything else you hear about. I'll check in with the rest of the group and see if anyone else has seen anything I'm missing." She sipped her beer and sighed in frustration. She had a pretty good idea of exactly who was behind these problems but she wanted proof before she started accusing anyone. 

"So are you the messenger now or is it just that Savitar is being lazy again?"

Phaedryn smirked a little at the Chtonian's audacity, "Now you should know that answer already Kratos. But in truth, this concerns some people I care about so it's all me. So, I'd appreciate it if you tell me anything you find out."

"I see. Isn't that overstepping your boundaries a little?"

"No. My brother knows about this he just isn't concerned with it yet. And since I am concerned with it…"

Kratos studied her for a moment and nodded as if he'd just seen inside her head, "You know who's behind this don't you?"

She shrugged half-heartedly, "I have a pretty good idea but I want proof. You know the code, we don't move until we're sure." Truthfully, she wasn't sure who it was that was responsible for the monsters, although she'd narrowed the list down to Apollo or Poseidon. Apollo, because he had the most to gain from the death of all of the Dark Hunters, and Poseidon, because he was the original maker of the beasties but he didn't seem to have any reason for it. "Well, thank you for the beer and your assistance in this," she said as she got up from the table and started to walk away. 

Kratos winked at her and raised his beer bottle in salute, "Anything for you boss lady."


	44. Chapter 44

Ash stepped through the doorway to the Hunter's living room and was delighted to find his daughter giggling with Marissa as the two girls rolled about on the floor sharing some funny bit that no adult in their right mind would understand. It amused him to watch his daughter be so very human as she played and laughed with his friend's child. He stood there watching the girls as they played and he wondered how long it would last. Marissa was barely three years old and Nea had just passed five the other day. Something about the way time flowed in Katoteros made the little goddess age faster than she would if she were on Earth all the time. 

"Kinda freaky isn't it?" Kyrian said as he walked up behind the other man. Ash had tried to explain the time difference to him that morning but he just couldn't wrap his head around it. "Oh well, let's enjoy them being tiny and safe while we can right?"

"Yeah, I guess they really do grow up before you know it huh?"

"Well yours does. Mine's about as normal as she can be given her background."

"It still seems awfully fast though." 

"This coming from a man that's been around forever. You scare me sometimes Ash." Kyrian smiled as he teased his friend and clapped him on the shoulder good-naturedly. "Why don't we just enjoy it while we can?"

Ash nodded happily at the other man and they made their way into the living room to sit on the floor with their girls. Both men eagerly engaged in whatever activity their little one presented them and they were laughing at the girls' imagination when Nick Gautier walked in and found them there. He stood in the doorway for a minute watching his former boss and his friend tangled on the floor surrounded by dolls and stuffed animals and wondered if it was at all odd to see an Atlantean god and an ancient Greek general playing with dolls. Finding the idea highly amusing he couldn't help but laugh and that revealed his presence to the other men. 

"Hey Nick, how you doing?" Kyrian asked as Marissa tackled him in a hug and drove him to the floor. 

"Good. Now you know it amuses me to no end to see you big scary men being overrun by cute little girls, right? I mean how much money could I get for posting pictures of this on the bulletin board?" Nick chuckled as he walked further into the room and found a spot to sit on a chair that wasn't too cluttered with toys. 

Ash sat up and pushed aside some of the stuffed animals that Nea had been burying him under and looked at Nick with a snarl, "Don't even think about it Gautier. I may have to do something I'd regret."

"Wouldn't bother me any," Kyrian said as he snuggled Marissa in his arms and kissed her face tenderly. 

"Yeah but you're a pushover Kyrian," Nick mused as he regarded Ash and the striking little girl that was now playing with his long black hair. "And who is this?"

Ash looked over his shoulder at the little goddess and motioned for her to come sit in his lap. When she had settled down comfortably he smiled at the former squire, "Nick, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Nea."

The younger man's jaw dropped and he sputtered in disbelief, "Your what?"

Ash's deep chuckle made the little girl giggle, "You heard me. Nea, go say hi to Nick please." The little goddess got up and tottered over to where Nick sat. He didn't take his eyes off of her as she approached and they could practically hear the gears spinning in his mind. 

She smiled up at him and gave him a little wink, "Hi Nick. It's nice to meet you. My name is Akrinea but everyone calls me Nea. Will you be my friend too?"

He held out a hand to her and she took it in her own, much smaller, hand. "Of course I will Nea. It's a pleasure to meet you." When the girl had happily moved back to the pile of toys he turned his extremely puzzled expression back to Ash. "Wanna tell me about that?"

Ash grinned with just a hint of fang and rose from the floor to come over and sit across from Nick in another chair, "Pretty much exactly what I said. Nea is my daughter. I don't think you've met her mother yet but you'll like her a lot."

Nick blinked at the Atlantean for a moment and opened his mouth like he was going to say something. Then he closed it and immediately opened it again, "When did you have a child?"

Ash shrugged, "Well, that depends on whose calendar you're using. She was born two years ago but in our home she ages a little bit faster so she's five. Don't ask me to explain that because it confuses me too."

Nick's gaping amused Kyrian and he too rose from the floor and sat on the couch. "You get used to it after a while Nick. Just expect she's going to be older the next time you see her and you won't be disappointed."

"Okay, I know I missed a lot when I was…well, you know, but this is ridiculous. So you not only have a child now, but you've hooked up with someone and I missed all of that?"

The Atlantean nodded, "Yup, and I've got another daughter that even I didn't know about until a few months ago."

Nick put his head in his hands and shook it back and forth for a while as he tried to process all that he'd been told. "When does the madness end? So are you married or can I still look forward to that?"

"Sorry Nick," he shrugged a little. "It was pretty spur of the moment and, well, you were still not talking to me at the time."

"Huh, well that would explain it." He seemed to accept the news with a very open mind. Of course because of his background being a Squire for Kyrian and Talon and knowing the goings on of the world that normal people didn't have a clue about made it all a little bit easier to accept things. "So, when do I get to meet this woman that's captured the great and mighty Acheron?"

Ash's booming laugh made any hesitation that Nick had about the situation evaporate. He looked over at Kyrian who shrugged. "Well, how about I give her a call and see what she's up to?"

OoOoOo

"Okay, sounds good. I'll meet Amanda at her office and see you there," Phaedryn said in a soft voice. She'd been tracking down the other Cthonians to see if there had been any odd occurrences or monster sightings in their territories. Chulain had found a young man in Egypt that swore he'd seen a sphinx in the foothills outside of Cairo devouring a flock of goats but other than that it was quiet. She'd told Chulain that she'd come investigate it later and was on her way to see Kalin in Russia, who'd reported a herd of Chimaera terrorizing parts of Siberia, when Ash had called. The Cthonians would just have to wait for a while. It was not like they couldn't handle an odd monster or two anyway. 

She hurried down a side street looking for a place that was free of onlookers so she could flash herself to New Orleans. Waiting for a police officer to round the corner at the end of the alley she was standing in she flipped open her cell phone and called Amanda to tell her that she was on her way. "So can I hitch a ride over to your house?"

"Sure Phae. As long as I get Nicky by three I'm good. See you in a little while."

Phaedryn smiled as she flipped the phone closed and returned it to her pocket. She glanced down the alleyway and found the policeman to be gone so she flashed herself to an empty room on the second floor of Amanda's building. 

OoOoOo

Marissa was asleep in Kyrian's lap when the girls arrived at the house. Amanda walked into the living room and looked at her husband and his friends sitting on the floor just chatting over things that had happened recently. Nea was playing by Ash's lap and generally ignoring the men and their grown up talk. "Well this can't be good. Did the girls wear you out?" she said as she weaved her way through the piles of toys to take a seat by her husband. 

Kyrian grinned up at his wife and shifted Marissa a little bit to one side, "No, just taking it easy until she wakes up and we start all over again. Where's Nicky?"

"Oh Phae's taking him upstairs to change him." She casually glanced over and saw Nick off to one side of the room, "Hey Nick. How's things?"

"Not bad. Hope you don't mind if I stopped by."

"Of course not. You know you're family."

Phaedryn came down the stairs a short time later from the nursery chatting happily at the baby she carried in her arms. When she entered the room Nick's eyes went wide and he gaped at her in disbelief as she handed the baby off to Amanda and kissed Ash before scooping Nea up in her arms. "Have you been a good girl today?" she asked her daughter as she kissed her several times. 

A thousand questions ran through Nick's head as he watched the woman that he knew as Alicia hand the little girl back to Ash and take a seat next to Amanda. She was obviously pregnant and that piqued Nick's curiosity to the point that he couldn't contain himself. "Okay, I can't take it anymore. What the hell is going on?"

"What do you mean?" Ash asked. 

"You heard me, what the hell? This is the girl from the zoo right? What's going on here?"

Phaedryn smiled at him and answered the question, "I'm not _just_ the girl from the zoo, although I did work there for a while. I'm sorry about deceiving you like that Nick, but it's better if people don't know who I really am." She exchanged a few meaningful glances with Ash and sighed as she moved nearer to Nick. "I really am who you think I am, you know, the girl you met at Sanctuary who works at the zoo. I just am a little bit _more_ than that too."

Nick stared at her dumbfounded and nodded his head as if he actually understood any of it. He'd actually lost himself in the deep green depths of her eyes and couldn't manage to tear his gaze away because he knew that he'd seen those eyes somewhere before, he just couldn't remember where. 

His revelry was broken when Alicia or whatever her name was waved her hand in front of his face. "Hello? Anyone home? Should we call the nice men in the white jackets?"

"Whuh? Oh…sorry. I know you from somewhere don't I?"

"Yes. You met me at Sanctuary and then you saw me again at the zoo."

"No." Nick chewed his lip a little as he tried to make the memory float to the top of his brain. "Someplace before that."

Ash blinked at his friend for a moment and then turned to his wife questioning her silently. She had assured him that all of the modifications to his memory were perfectly intact but it apparently wasn't as complete as she thought. Either that, or her affect on Nick was much stronger than she'd thought. Ash studied his wife's face for a moment and then turned his gaze towards Nick. It annoyed him that he could no longer see the path that Nick walked due to their friendship but there were still ways to get around that if you looked hard enough. 

But before he could search the path of fate, Phaedryn spoke up, "Nick, do you know who Savitar is?"

"Uh, isn't he the guy that mediates for the Were hunters?"

She nodded with a faint grin, "Yes he is. Well, I'm his sister. It's a really long story but I'll give you the Reader's Digest version if you'd like." Nick nodded eagerly; he really wanted to find out how he knew her because it was bugging him. "Fine. Ash and I knew each other as humans a really long time ago. A bunch of nastiness happened and we got separated for way too long. Well we found each other again a while back. The only problem was that I was a human at the time."

"Oh! Like reincarnation?"

"Exactly, somehow I knew that wouldn't freak you out. Anyway, when Ash figured out who I was, we got back together. We made up for a lot of lost time and now here we are, married, one kid here and another on the way. Got it all?"

"As long as I've been a part of this world, yeah I got as much as you're going to give me. Which isn't nearly enough you know? But I get it." He paused for a moment as he studied her face, still looking for a clue as to how he knew her. Giving in to his curiosity he blurted, "But that still doesn't tell me what I want I asked."

Phaedryn laughed as if she were used to this kind of thing, "Yes it does. Reincarnation, you said it yourself. We _have_ known each other before. You just don't remember it all the way." 

Both Nick and Ash's eyebrows went up at the same time like they had planned it or something, "What? You mean like we were all hot and heavy sometime in the past and I can't remember it?" He shot a glare at Ash and Phaedryn could swear she saw a flash of jealousy in his eyes. "Man this sucks! Why is it stuff like this always happens to me? A smoking hot babe and I were hooked up in a past life and I can't remember a damn thing about it and he," he stabbed a finger in Ash's direction. "As usual, ends up with her. Where is the cosmic justice?"

Ash's relief at Phaedryn's explanation was only mildly outweighed by his creeping twinge of jealously that she may have once been in love with Nick. He knew all about her past lives, she'd gifted him with the knowledge of all six hundred and thirteen of them at their wedding, but she hadn't told him that Nick, or rather Nick's soul, had been one of her loves. A jealous spark greatly enhanced after the events of the past with his protectiveness over Simi. He sent a questioning thought in her direction and was rewarded with the soft caress of his wife's mind reassuring him that she was exaggerating the statement greatly and there was nothing for him to worry about, followed quickly by a promise to explain it all to him later on. 


	45. Chapter 45

Once Nick decided that he had once had a relationship with Phaedryn in a past life he took to her quite eagerly. He asked her lots of questions about their shared past life and she answered him evasively but as honestly as she could with out getting his hopes up entirely. Ash eyed his wife warily but she was continuously sending him calming reassurances so he didn't fret it too much. She would give him a full explanation when they were alone and he chided himself for even beginning to doubt her. 

Nick also delighted in having Nea sit on his lap and cuddle with him. He'd missed out on a lot of that with Marissa while he'd been in his mourning period and now he desperately wanted to make up for it. He absolutely adored kids and wanted to someday have a large family of his own to make up for everything he'd missed out on as a child. Phaedryn picked up on the feelings he was projecting and she smiled at him, "You're good with kids. Got any of your own?"

"Not yet. Plenty of time for that."

She laughed softly, "Ash told me he met the lady that had won your heart. She's a very lucky girl."

The younger man's peals of laughter at that statement were contagious and soon everyone in the room was giggling. "Oh that's funny! No, I'm the lucky one not her. I mean she can do so much better than me…"

"That is most definitely not true Nicholas Gautier!" Amanda said in her sternest mother voice. "Lisa is an exceptionally lucky woman to have met you. Don't you dare say otherwise."

Nick sort of tucked his head down into his shoulders and tried his hardest to look like a turtle, "Yes ma'am."

"Seriously though, I'd really like to meet her."

Nick nodded at her, "She'll be back in town next week."

"Oh really? Finally convinced her that New Orleans is the place to be?" Kyrian asked with a smirk. 

"Yeah, I think so. She fell in love with the Quarter and I think the house kind of swayed her choice."

Amanda perked up a little at the thought of another female friend that could be carefully brought into the strange world they embraced. "Well, who wouldn't go for that grand mansion you own Nicky?"

Nick laughed at Amanda's very human assessment of the situation. Even though she was now immortal she still thought very human thoughts and that tickled him knowing how strange her perception of life had become since she'd met Kyrian. "Well, she hasn't completely bought the idea of moving here but I think I can sway her decision a little bit."

"Oh? And how is that?" Kyrian asked. 

Nick grinned and reached into his pocket to pull out the small velvet box he had in there. Kyrian's eyes went wide as his jaw dropped in surprise, "Think she'll go for it?" the younger man asked with a beaming smile. 

Amanda had gotten up from her perch on the edge of the sofa and was now hovering over Kyrian's shoulder as he examined the ring in the box, "Oh Nick it's beautiful. She'd be crazy to say no to you."

Nick laughed at her assessment and nodded, "Well she's pretty crazy to begin with so that doesn't really reassure me, but I get it." Suddenly he blanched and swallowed loudly. "Am I doing the right thing?"

Ash took that opportunity to make his voice heard, "Yes you are Nick. I may not be able to see your future anymore but I know in my heart that this is exactly what was supposed to happen for you. Lisa is the one you're fated to spend the rest of your life with."

Nick blinked a few times and spent some time studying everyone's face as he thought that statement over. Eventually he swallowed again and asked, "You can't tell me how you know that can you?"

"Actually I can," Ash grinned. "I happen to know a goddess that specializes in romance and love and she gave me the heads up on Lisa. Definitely the soul that matches yours." He saw Nick's expression and he elaborated, "I'm just trying to look out for you Nick. You _are_ my friend."

Now Nick looked confused and slightly angry, "Ya'll gotta stop telling me these things you know? Makes me feel like I can't live my life the way I want to." He looked down at his hands in his lap and wrung his fingers together for a moment. "Okay, then you're not making this happen are you? None of your fancy creepy powers?"

"No Nick, I had nothing to do with this. Lisa was meant to be with you. I just asked a few questions after you introduced me to her. No harm meant."

"He really didn't have anything to do with it Nick," Phaedryn said carefully. "He was telling me about how he met her and then he did exactly what he said. He asked a goddess that deals with love about your destiny with her."

"Okay, I'll trust you on this. But if I find out you used your mojo on Lisa or me I'm gonna be pissed."


	46. Chapter 46

Later that night, when Phaedryn and Ash had said their goodbyes to Nick and the Hunter family, they flashed themselves and Nea back to Katoteros where they found the palace strangely quiet. Ash felt with his mind to determine where the others were and he found Xirena and Xiovar curled around their egg chattering happily to each other. Simi was in her room watching some movie and Alexion and Danger were occupied in their own room doing something that Ash suddenly wished he hadn't peeked in on. 

"Everyone okay?" Phae asked. 

Ash nodded and settled into the golden throne in the center of the room with Nea safely dozing in his arms. "Yup. So, do you want to talk about what you told him?"

She knew exactly what Ash was asking her for. She had promised him that she would explain about her past life with Nick later and now was later. "It's not what you're thinking. He was in my life but he was my brother, not my lover. Nothing I told him was untrue, I just didn't tell him everything."

He regarded his wife for a moment with raised eyebrows, "You're getting sneaky in your old age babe. Remind me not to try to pull stuff on you."

"Old age huh? You're one to talk, Mister 'I'm nearly twelve thousand years old'. I'm only 32 you know," she said in a huffy voice as she crossed her arms against her chest, a movement made difficult by her swelling belly, and glared at him.

He chuckled and graced her with a tender look and a mental caress that made her shiver in delight. "Did you find out anything about the monsters from Kratos?"

Phae came over to his side and sat on the arm of the throne, wrapping a loving arm around his neck, "Sort of. Well, more like not really. He hadn't heard anything through the channels but he said he'd look into it and get back to me. Chulain however, found a kid in Cairo that swore that he'd seen a sphinx in the hills. He was checking that out for me and he'll report back too. I was about to go pay a visit to Kalin to see if he'd heard anything other than the reported sighting of Chimaera when you called. I think it may be a good idea to check in with all of the Chtonians just in case."

"That'd be good. Even if they don't find anything, at least they'll be on the lookout. That alone will help immensely."

"Yup, plus if they know anything they'll pass info on to Savitar and he can trace it back to it's source."

Ash rolled his shoulders as if he were trying to work out kinks in his joints, "I'm pretty sure I already know who's responsible for this but I want to know for sure so that's a mighty good plan. S'why I married you. You're smart."

She quirked an eyebrow at him, "Is that the only reason?"

"Hmm, well the smoking hot part was a factor too." He ducked under the fist she waved at his face and laughed, "Oh, and the part about your brother killing me if I didn't."

"Ha. Ha. Very amusing. And they say that Atlanteans have no sense of humor."

OoOoOo

Akrinea woke in her own bed a while later feeling vaguely upset and wondering why. She searched her memories and stumbled upon the faint recollection of her parents discussing strange goings on and the Cthonians. She could remember the conversation if she concentrated on it and allowed her thoughts to examine the tension radiating out of her father as he talked. He was very nervous about what was happening and on the verge of being very angry as well, which worried her more than anything about monsters. She knew in her soul the potential for mass destruction her father contained deep inside him. He controlled that potential with an iron grip but if his grip slipped just a little, chaos would erupt and no one could stop that once it began. 

She felt along the thoughts of the conversation and tried to puzzle out the reasons for his tension and upset. After a few moments she knew everything that was causing the anxiety and she used her considerable powers to find the root of the problem in pretty much exactly the spot she had figured it would be. She curled her tiny lip up at the source of all this annoyance and made up her mind to end the problem once and for all. She hated seeing her daddy upset and nothing in the world upset him more than the person on the other end of her thoughts. Now, she just needed some help in fixing the trouble. She pondered whom she could ask for help with this. She needed an adult but she didn't want to ask any of the ones in her home. Maybe Uncle Sav? No, he would be busy doing whatever it was the he was always so busy doing. She thought a little bit more and the perfect adult to help her popped into her mind. 

OoOoOo

Nea poked her head into her parent's bedroom the next morning and grinned as she saw them snuggled together on the big bed in the center of the room. It made her happy to see them at peace like this. Daddy especially, because he always had so much to do, it was nice to see him relaxed and happy. She knew that eventually she would take some of his responsibilities from him, as would her younger sibling when it grew up. She stood there watching them sleep for another moment before her childlike impatience got the better of her and she crawled up onto the end of the bed, which roused her daddy from his sleep. 

"Morning sweetie. You're up early," he rumbled as he opened his arms to wrap her in a hug. He settled her down between himself and Phaedryn and closed his eyes again. 

She let him hold her for a while, enjoying the mixed scents of her parents and the warmth of the bed. "Daddy?" she asked softly after several minutes, not sure if he was still awake or not. 

"Mmm?"

"Can I go play with Marissa today?"

Ash put a finger to his lips to quiet Nea down so she wouldn't wake Phaedryn up. He nodded and cracked an eye open to peer at her, "Sure but let's sleep a little while longer okay? Mommy needs lots of sleep."

"Mommy can hear you silly people and she's been up for a while now."

Ash came fully awake and looked over Nea's chest at his wife who was still nestled on the pillow on the other side of the bed and looking mighty content but furrowing her brow every once in a while. "You okay babe?"

"Mm-hmm, but the little one's kicking the crap out of me."

Nea giggled softly and watched her mother's belly as the baby inside it wiggled and tried to find more room in it's confinement. "It's okay baby, you'll be out here soon. Then we can play. I've got all kinds of fun things to teach you," she said in a whisper to her mother's belly before placing a soft kiss on it. 

Ash and Phaedryn both laughed at the little girl's earnest statement, "Honey, it's going to be a while before the baby is old enough for you to really play with," Ash said gently. 

"S'okay Daddy, I'm learning patience," Nea said earnestly. 

Ash chuckled as he pulled her back into a warm hug, "Yes you are, except when it comes to cookies or presents." He kissed her on the head and glanced over at Phaedryn who was now fully awake and propped up on her elbow watching them. "Well I promised your Uncle Sin that I would come help him out for a while today. Maybe Mommy could take you to play?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Phaedryn said with a nod. "Let me get dressed and eat something to see if I can calm Junior down and we'll be on our way okay?"


	47. Chapter 47

Amanda Hunter was feeding her son when the phone rang. She dropped the spoon into the bowl of baby food and jogged to the phone answering it as she reached for a towel to wipe the mess Nicky had spit on her off. "'Lo?"

"Hey Mandy, how you doing today?"

"Fine, Nicky's being a handful but I shouldn't complain. What're you up to today?"

Phaedryn smiled as she pictured the Hunter's son 'being a handful', "Oh nothing, Nea was wanting to come play with Marissa if that's okay with you."

Amanda nodded even though her friend couldn't see it, "You guys in town?"

"No, we're at home still but we can flash down."

"You know it seriously freaks me out when you call me from there. How does that work anyway?"

"You've got me stumped. You'd have to ask Ash about that little miracle."

"Huh, okay, will do. So when did you want to come over?"

"Any time that's good for you."

Nicky gurgled and threw one of his toys on the floor in front of his mother to get her attention. "C'mon over sweetie, we're not doing anything."

"Kay, be there in a minute or two."

Amanda hung up the phone and returned her attention to the little boy sitting in his bouncy chair on the kitchen table. Somehow he'd managed to get green beans and carrots all the way up to his eyebrows and plums all down his shirt. "You sir, are a wreck." 

He smiled at her with two teeth and a mouth full of drool and giggled as she poked his belly. Soon his giggles were joined by the sudden squeal of Marissa from the living room when Nea appeared in the room. Phaedryn stepped into the kitchen and stood looking at Nicky in his chair. She shook her head in wonder; "You really should try putting the food _in_ his mouth. It works a lot better that way."

"Yeah, I tried that but this way is much more fun," Amanda replied with a grin and sarcasm infusing her voice. She shot a glance over her shoulder as she continued to try to scrape the excess food off her son, "Whoa, you're going to pop soon huh?" 

"Yup, any time now." She noted her friend's suddenly quirked eyebrow, "Relax, not today."

"You can tell?"

Phaedryn nodded and reached for an apple from the bowl of fruit on the counter, "Yeah, kind of. I think me and the little one are on the same page and it's not time yet."

"Can't you tell if it's a boy or a girl?"

"I could if I thought about it but isn't it more fun to be surprised?"

Amanda thought about that for a moment as she went to the sink to get a wet cloth to finish the cleaning process, "I don't know, it's kind of nice to know what to expect."

Phaedryn laughed around the big bite of apple she'd taken, "Oh wait till you've been around for a few thousand more years and then you'll see the value of a surprise. Plus, I'm old fashioned like that." She realized what she'd said and held up a hand, "Wait, hold off on the old jokes will ya? I think I've gotten enough of that from Ash and Sav recently."

"Oh? The boys picking on you again?"

"You have _no_ idea! And I've got no back up anymore now that Xirena's all in maternal mode and Xiovar's egg sitting. Yeesh, worthless demons."

"What about Simi?"

Phae rolled her eyes, "Oh you know she's never going to side against Ash. I'm totally out numbered. Wait till I stick them with diaper duty and disappear. I'll have my revenge bwa ha ha!"

"Ooo, I love the evil laugh!" Amanda tried to keep her face straight but it didn't work and both women dissolved into peals of giggles. Eventually they regained their composure and moved themselves and Nicky to the living room that was now empty after the girls had gone to play in Marissa's room. "So what's the deal with Xirena's baby? How does that work?"

Phaedryn curled her lip up at the memory of the expelling process and the subsequent destruction of the kitchen floor. "Oh it's a rather nasty process. I'm not entirely clear on the whole thing since I wasn't ever around Charonte back home. Ash has tried to enlighten me but even he doesn't understand it all since Simi was given to him after her egg was…expelled. From what I get though, Xirena carried the egg until it was ready to be in the outside world, she horked it up, in a quite disgusting display I might add, and now Xiovar takes care of it until it hatches. Then viola, a baby Charonte."

Amanda nodded as if she understood the process, "So what's a baby Charonte look like?"

"From what I understand they look a little like the dronkeys from Shrek 3. But that's where the cute ends because they eat everything in sight and poop out a toxic material that makes nuclear waste look like ice cream."

Amanda's eyes went wide and she gaped a little bit, "So how do you deal with that?"

"Ash is building a special room for them to live in. From what I understand it'll be comfy for the big Charontes and baby proof for the little one."

"You lead a truly bizarre life, you know that?"

"_I_ do? Have you met my husband?"


	48. Chapter 48

Nea was having a good time playing with Marissa but she really needed to leave and do what she needed to track down the information she knew would make her daddy happy. She knew that mommy would be talking with Aunt Amanda and not come check on her for a while so she tried to figure out how to keep Marissa in the room while she went to find the answers she needed. 

"Do you like dragons?" Nea asked her friend after a sudden inspiration. 

"Not scary ones. I like the one on the movie, it's pretty."

Nea knew what Marissa was talking about because they'd watched that movie together a few weeks ago. Knowing that Bob would make Marissa happy she summoned the pterygsaura to her. The little orange dragon cheeped happily when it arrived and flitted about the room investigating the toys and furniture. Marissa clapped her hands together and bounced around as the tiny creature flew from place to place. 

"C'mere Bob," Nea said softly, holding her arm up for the dragon to perch on. When he had settled in on her shoulder and tucked his head down against her neck he started whistling softly which made Marissa beam in delight. 

"Oh it's singing!"

Nea smiled and motioned for her friend to come closer. Marissa eased over near the other girl and peered at the little orange creature on her friend's shoulder. Bob's iridescent scales twinkled in the sunlight streaming in the window and she was enthralled by the jewel tones that she could see on him. "He's so pretty. Can I hold him?"

"Sure you can, you have to be gentle with him until he gets to know you." Nea put a small hand under Bob's front feet and he eagerly climbed onto her hand, wrapping his tail around her wrist for support. When she held him over towards Marissa he sniffed at the other little girl and then wiggled in Nea's hand and uttered a soft squawk of recognition. "Okay, hold out your hands," Nea directed the other girl. 

Marissa did so and Bob carefully stepped onto her outstretched palm and settled down as he had been on Nea with his tail wrapped around her wrist for support. Marissa smiled at the little creature and brought him up towards her face. When Bob stretched out and nuzzled her cheek she giggled happily, "Oh! He likes me."

"Yes he does," Nea said with a smile, Bob was going to be just the distraction she needed to disappear for a while with no on the wiser. She watched Marissa pet the dragon for a few minutes before she rose from the floor, "I'm going to go get some of Bob's toys from home. If I don't he'll chew up all of yours. That would be bad. Will you watch him for me?"

"Okay," the other girl said hesitantly. "Is it okay if I play with him?"

Nea smiled broadly, "Of course. I'll be back before you know it." She winked at her friend and snapped her fingers near Marissa's head making her forget what she had just told her. If her mother came into the room Marissa would simply say that she was in the bathroom, which should give her enough time to find the answers she sought. 

OoOoOo

Nea found Misos deep in the blackness of his cave in the depths of Kalosis and startled him out of his blank faced reverie. He growled at first, unsure of who or what could be here without his consent, but when he saw the little goddess's face his own lips immediately slid into a smile. "Hello little one. What brings you here?"

She chewed her lip a little and shuffled her feet as she tried to voice the favor she was about to ask of the banished god before her. "I…I need your help."

Misos' booming laugh echoed through the cavern, "Oh that is amusing dearest. What could you possibly need my help for? I have no power anymore so that can not be the root of it." He mused as he paced back and forth in front of her briefly, then he saw the sad expression on her face and he stooped down in front of her taking her hands in his own, "Now, now sweet child, there is no need for that amount of sadness in one so young. Tell me what troubles you so."

Nea looked up at him with a quivering lip and the threat of tears in her eyes, "My Daddy, he's really upset and I don't want him to get mad but I don't know how to stop it," she said in a rush. 

Misos studied her and reached out with the remainder of his god powers to get the full details of what she was too upset to say. What he found in her heart scared him more than a little. He knew exactly what the extent of the destruction Apostolos would reign down on humanity if he let loose his anger and it was currently threatening to erupt very soon. That wouldn't make his plan to escape his confinement worth the result. There was no point in escaping to a barren wasteland devoid of all life. "I see. Well, let's talk about this for a moment. Let me ask you some questions all right?"

He did ask her questions, for a very long time. Then he sat and stared off into space for an even longer time. Nea was about to get up and leave when he finally blinked and nodded once. "I've got an idea."


	49. Chapter 49

Artemis stood on the balcony of her temple staring off into space and watching the events she'd started play out. It amused her to think that the actions she'd planned would bring her everything she'd ever wanted all at once with little to no work on her part. She had simply seen an opportunity and pushed a few beings into their proper places and viola! Now she could stand back and watch the pieces slip into the grooves and her future brighten immeasurably. 

OoOoOo

Phaedryn's cell phone rang in her pocket and she rolled to one side and fumbled for it in her pants pocket. She pulled the slender black phone out and flipped it open with a frown when she read the name on the display. "Please tell me you don't have bad news."

Amanda sat on the couch opposite the other woman and watched her face as she listened to the person on the other end of the call. First Phaedryn was concerned; she listened carefully to what the caller was telling her. Then her eyebrows shot up and her face darkened evilly. Amanda shifted uncomfortably in her seat, usually when people she knew got looks like that on their face something really, seriously bad was about to happen. 

"I see. Fine, I'll look into it. No, I'll let you know if I need any help." She curled her lip up and her eyes flashed anger as she flipped the phone closed and she glared down at. She took a deep breath and her face washed back to it's usual appearance as if the phone call had never happened but Amanda knew better, she could feel the anger radiating off of her friend in waves and she actually leaned farther back on the couch to avoid being caught up in the miasma of fury. 

"You okay?" Amanda asked hesitantly. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just…oh never mind. Not your problem." She reached for the glass of lemonade she'd been sipping at and took a swig of it before asking, "Would you mind if I left Nea here for a little while? I've got something I need to take care of and it's better if I know she's okay."

Something about the way that the other woman phrased her question made Amanda extremely nervous about what the future held. "Sure, you know she's always welcome here."

"Thank you," Phaedryn said, rising from the chair and nodding gratefully at her friend. "I'll just let her know that I'll be back in a while." She paused as the words she had spoken sank into her brain and she stepped over to where Amanda was standing, wrapping her arms around the other woman in a loving hug, "Thank you for everything."

"Whoa, that sounds really final there, girly. You're coming back right?"

Phaedryn's face hinted at a deep sadness but she smiled and nodded, "Of course I am." In her head though, she was wondering if that was really the case. She'd gone up against a lot of very powerful beings in her time but this one would be a little bit harder than the rest. This time if she died, it was forever, and her unborn child would die too. Not wanting to give any more away than she already had, she turned and headed for Marissa's playroom to speak with her daughter. 

She stood outside the closed door for a moment, listening to the two girls giggle and enjoying the feeling of love and completion she got from the happy sound. Sighing softly to herself she opened the door and looked inside to find the girls dancing in a circle around Bob the pterygsaura. The tiny dragon was bouncing around in a circle like an overgrown frog and squawking in some sort of rhythm that imitated one of the many songs Ash played on his guitar. The sight amused her to no end and she hated to break up the party. "Nea?"

The little goddess looked up at her mother, thankful that she'd come back to Marissa's room before anyone came looking for her. "Mommy? What's wrong?" She could feel the tension radiating from her mother along with an anger that threatened to shadow even her father's potent rage. 

"Nothing's wrong baby," she said with a gulp. When she saw the look on Nea's face she amended her statement, "Okay, a lot is wrong, but it's nothing I can't take care of. I need to go solve an ongoing problem. It's going to take me a little while so I'm going to leave you here with Aunt Amanda and Marissa okay?"

Nea knew exactly what had happened and she nodded carefully. She knew how much danger her mother was walking into but there really wasn't anything she could do to stop her without tipping her hand on the knowledge she'd just obtained. If there had been any way at all of making her mother hold off on rushing headlong into the danger she was facing Nea would have jumped at it but now she would have to just wait and see what happened. "Okay Mommy." She looked down at her feet for a moment and when Phaedryn started to rise from the crouch she was in Nea grabbed her hand, "Be careful."

Phaedryn looked down at her daughter and once again wondered just how powerful the little girl actually was. "I will honey, don't worry. I love you." She kissed Nea tenderly and flashed out of the room.

OoOoOo

Nea watched her mother disappear and she stretched out her mind to the dark cave where Misos sat monitoring the events through his link to her. He'd asked her to allow him access to her mind before she'd left and he explained that he could better help her solve any problems that arose if she didn't have to come explain things to him first. What he hadn't said was that it would also allow him to take a small amount of her power for himself. Not enough that she would know anything was wrong, but enough that he could free himself when the time came and then he would take the rest of her energy. 

Misos reassured the girl with a gentle touch to her mind. Then he sent his own thoughts out, searching the future for the opportunity he so ravenously wanted. 


	50. Chapter 50

Acheron rolled his shoulders as he leaned over the railing to watch the pit boss as he made his way through the crowd. The ache that had settled firmly between the muscles there had been nagging at him all day and nothing he did would make it go away. The blonde Daimon pit boss was easy to view, especially since he was head and shoulders taller than the humans around him. It unnerved Ash just a little that Sin employed Damien as his go-to guy in the casino. Daimons usually weren't very trustworthy, especially around so many humans. However, once he'd spent five minutes with the man he'd known that Sin's assessment of him was dead on. 

They'd spent the day beefing up the supernatural security in the casino and now they were testing the new systems. Sin had asked for some help after the gallu attacks and the potential disaster of the Dimme escaping. He really cared for the people that visited his hotel and he wanted nothing to harm them that he could possibly control. Ash watched as Damien triggered the panic button under the nearest craps table and the walls shimmered and then exposed hundreds of mirrors that would repel any gallu in the building. Ash glanced across the room to Sin who was nodding his head as the mirrors revealed themselves. They had put mirrors on the main doors of the building when it was built but after the attack that caused a gallu to be inside the building Sin was more cautious than ever. 

Ash grinned at the Sumerian as he strode towards the tower in the center of the casino, he had been more than happy to help beef up the security, especially since it would also be protecting his daughter and grandchild. "Looks good. Did you see anything wonky?"

"No but you were the one looking for 'wonky'. I just want it to match the décor."

Ash was about to comment further when his cell phone blared over the noise in the casino. He scowled at the hateful device but flipped it open anyway as he started striding towards a place that was not only more private but quieter as well. He could hear perfectly well over the noise but he didn't want his conversation to be overheard because he thought that it might have to do with the rash of odd monster attacks. 

"…and then Ravyn reported a kraken sighting off the coast as well. Man, something is seriously freaky out here. Any ideas?"

"Not at the moment, just keep your ears open. I'm looking into some strange things that some of the other Hunters have seen. I'll let you know if there's anything you can do." 

"Okay, well don't take too long. Daimons I can handle, these prehistoric thingies are weirding me out. I don't want my pretty ass to get eaten you know?"

"I seriously doubt a Kraken would even want to eat your ass Otto. And they aren't prehistoric."

"Yeah, whatever. It's older than dirt and has teeth the size of a Mack truck." He paused for a moment as if he were forming words, "Hey Boss? Say hi to the little woman for me, will you?"

Ash chuckled at the Squire's request, "Will do." He flipped the phone closed again and glared at the small silver device as if it would show him the answers to the questions that were spinning about his head like a cyclone. He concentrated a moment and tried to see the answers that should be so plain to him but once again all he saw was fog and shadows. It was time for him to go for the throat and solve this issue before it spiraled out of control. Curling his lip up a little as he let out a deep growl he flashed himself off to Neratiti.

OoOoOo

"Keep your shorts on, I'm coming!" Savitar shouted as he strode down the long hallway from his quarters. He'd been right in the middle of something when Ash had appeared in the meeting hall and started screeching his name. The Cthonian rolled his eyes and raked his hand through his black hair as he entered the huge circular room, "What?" He stopped short in the doorway when he saw and felt the amount of anger flowing out of his friend. "Whoa…what's happening?"

"That's what I want to know," Ash growled. "I've got an influx of monsters and beasties I just can't explain. They're popping up all over the damn place and my Hunters are getting their asses handed to them. This has got to stop and I want to know who to beat the shit out of to make it happen. So talk."

Savitar looked critically at the other man and felt the waves of hostility and fury wash over him. He knew that if Ash didn't calm down, and fast, that he would completely lose control of that anger and if that happened, the entire world would suffer. "Okay, calm down. What kind of monsters are we talking here?"

"Everything! At first it was a minotaur and a kraken in Rio, then there's been…let's see," Ash said as he ticked off the reported attacks on his fingers, "A sphinx in Cairo, harpies in Cannes, a herd of centaur rampaging in California, a pack of chimaera in Siberia, a Cyclops in New York city, and a lamia outside of Beijing."

"Huh, well other than the sphinx, they are all Greek critters so I'd say that one of the Special Olympics kids is behind it."

Ash huffed and rolled his eyes, "Yeah I thought that too but then a roc showed up over Sydney and freaking Tiamat buzzed London. It looked like godsdamned Reign of Fire out there. So who the hell is behind this?"

Savitar started pacing back and forth chewing his lower lips as he processed the information that Ash had given him. After a few minutes he whirled towards the other man with a look on his face that was very nearly humor. "Oh, you're not gonna like this."

Ash waited for the other being to say what was on his mind but Savitar just stood there looking smug, "Spit it out…"

"Think about it Ash, Greek monsters mixed with Mesopotamian and Egyptian. Who do you think could control them?"

"Zeus comes to mind."

"Yeah, but probably not the Mesopotamian ones. Think some more. It'll come to you."

Ash did just that, pacing back and forth opposite Savitar. He knew the answer, he just didn't want to admit it because that would mean that even the last vestige of caring he had for her would have to be given up. "Damn it Artie, why?" he growled. 

"You're going to have to ask her that one brother. Sorry." Savitar stood watching the other god as he paced and he could feel the pain that swelled in the other man's heart when the truth of the matter came to rest there. For some unknown reason Acheron still harbored some sort of caring for the goddess that had made his life miserable for thousands of years. 

Ash's jaw clenched painfully as he tried to hold back the heartache and fury that was threatening to overwhelm him. He looked up at Savitar for any sort of assistance the other god could offer but Savitar could only shrug, this was Ash's fight, not his. Ash nodded once, cursed a long string of invectives in Atlantean and flashed himself out of the room. 


	51. Chapter 51

Savitar shook his head as the Atlantean vanished and worried briefly if he was in over his head. He could have easily stopped Ash from rushing off to confront Artemis but after all that the goddess had put him through over the centuries, damn it, the man deserved some retribution. He shrugged at the place where his friend had been standing and turned to go back to the other meeting hall where he'd recently been. He walked down the long hallway mulling over the events that Artemis had set into motion and he worried for just a moment that he was going to have to kill her. That would cause a whole mess of trouble that he didn't even want to consider so he hoped it wouldn't come to that. However, if she kept up on this path there wouldn't be much of a choice. 

The voices of the other Cthonians grew louder as he neared the room and he felt the anger radiated from them spilling out into the corridor. It had been a very, very long time since they had been all together and the combined destructive power of the group crashed about the room like a tidal wave. That was the main reason he had sent them all to opposite corners of the globe, if they were together for too long their energies spiked and mass amounts of destruction occurred. But this was an emergency and it would get faster results if they could all discuss the issue and share information in one place. 

"All right, calm down. Let's not destroy my palace shall we?" He growled as he stalked back into the room. He waited briefly for the others to stop talking and when they didn't dissipate their growing cloud of power he pushed their energy back down into them as best he could to avoid an explosion. "Okay, then, Ash knows it's her and he's gone to confront her. Let's let him have his chance at her and we'll see if we need to mop up." 

Zebulon looked like he would rather be forced to wear pink frilly skirts than let Ash have all the fun. He was the Cthonian whose territory had been hardest hit by the rampaging creatures and several of them had given him the slip as he tried to end the destruction so he was itching to kill something. His lip curled into a sneer but he reined in his powers as Savitar glared at him. "Fine, but I want a piece of her too. She's pushed too far for too long and I've had enough."

"Oh give it a rest Z." The dark skinned Cthonian whirled around and he found a grinning Phaedryn behind him draped over an ornate chair. "You really need to try decaf pal. You're off the chain."

Savitar stifled a chuckle at his sister's words, "She's right, back off for a while and we'll let you at her if there's any left. Go home everyone and keep an eye open for anything that's still running amok and take care of that. We'll handle the other stuff." He waved a hand at the room and everyone but Phaedryn vanished. "So…are you really going to let him have all of the fun?"

"As much as it pains me to say, yes. He's got the right to deal with her. But I'll jump in if he leaves anything. I do owe her a little pain." She wanted very badly to be the one to destroy Artemis for what she'd done to Ash over the years but it was his fight, not hers. She raised one corner of her mouth in a sneer and said, "But I _will_ keep an eye on the exchange and I _will_ step in if I feel the need."

"I think that's a good idea, she's got a lot of extra powers now that he hasn't had to go up against. Might be a good plan to have a safety net." He studied her face for a moment and nodded after he'd assured himself that she wasn't just out for blood. "Okay, call me if you need any back up."

OoOoOo

Acheron exploded into the middle of Artemis' temple, hair whipping about his shoulder as he allowed the anger that was flooding him to escape his body. He screamed for Artemis and waited for her to appear as he paced back and forth on the white marble floor. When she emerged before him she had the nerve to look surprised that he was there until she felt the waves of rage pouring off of him. "Whatever is wrong Acheron dear?" she cooed. 

"Call them back right now," he growled. "Call your pets back and stop playing games."

She studied him for a moment, leaning away from the threat of bodily harm he was presenting. What scared her more than the palpable animosity she felt was the fact that his eyes had bled from their usual silver to a hell fire red. She dared to step closer to him and allowed her stubborn streak to take over for a moment. "No."

The growl that escaped from him was not nearly as threatening to her as the fact that his skin was slowly darkening and becoming a mottled blue color. She hadn't seen him assume his natural Atlantean from since before her brother had killed him. She knew that the change meant that he was losing control of the tight grip he had on his anger so she flashed herself out of the room and down to the center of the massive field that abutted her palace. She used this field and the surrounding woods for hunting and she knew the area like the back of her hand so she would have an advantage here. 

When Ash appeared across the field from her, he'd allowed himself to change to his full Atlantean form and she watched in awe as he strode towards her growling and clenching his fists. "You killed my Hunters Artemis. You will pay for that."

"They are mine to keep or destroy Acheron, not yours. I say whether they live or die."

Nothing she said would deter his anger now and he raised a hand towards her and released a wash of power that flung her back across the expanse of the field. "You have had nothing to do with them past creating them for thousands of years. That alone makes them mine. You've crossed the line one too many times Artemis and now I'm done playing games with you."

"Oh I don't think so Acheron," she said as she pulled herself up from the ground and straightened her dress. She allowed the combined god powers she'd consumed throughout the years fill her body and sparks of energy crackled around her head before she released a glowing ball of energy at him. The ball of light crashed into him and flung him all the way across the field and into a stand of trees where he collapsed in a heap. Artemis built more energy into another ball to launch at him as she strode across the field to confront him. "Now I'm done playing too. The Hunters are mine to do with as I will, and so are you. No one else owns you dear Acheron, only me. And I will do with you as I choose."

Ash lay beside the trees for a moment gathering his wits. Artemis had apparently collected a great deal more power than he'd initially thought because the bolt she'd shot him with sapped his energy more than he'd expected. He allowed her to think that he was hurt as he built his own energy back up and harnessed the anger that flowed through his body. When she was close enough for an attack to be painful, he rose and launched a massive wave of force at her before she could attack him, hurtling her across the field to crash into the trees as she'd done to him. She rose faster than he would have liked and the look of hatred on her face almost amused him. He had so much anger towards her for all she'd done to him over the years. And all this time he'd let her do what she willed because if he'd fought back the battle that resulted would annihilate the planet. However, he wasn't holding back that anger now, she'd gone too far and now it was time for her to pay for her sins. 

"Why Acheron, I didn't know you had it in you," she purred as she strode towards him, electric sparks swirling about her as she built her energy again. For hundreds of years she kept the majority of the powers she'd collected from other gods hidden from him so that he would never know how truly powerful she was. She'd been planning for the day that he would lose his control and lash out at her and if she played her cards right she would easily defeat him and take his powers into herself as well. Then she would enslave him and use him as the pet she'd treated him like for so long. Now was that day and she smiled as she pictured him naked and willing to do whatever she told him to do, unable to resist. She blasted him again and laughed as he was flung into the trees again. 

Ash clung to consciousness as his body crashed through the trees, breaking several of them as he went. When he finally stopped he shook his head to clear it and looked up to find Artemis bearing down on him with a look of murder in her eyes. He ducked under the next wave of energy she flung at him and scooted away from her reach as she lunged at him with hands that had become knife sharp claws. She screamed like a banshee as she narrowly missed him and she slammed her hands together expelling another powerful blast of energy that exploded through the trees knocking them flat. "You're mine Acheron. Mine! And now you will be my slave for all eternity!"

He was about to flash himself away from her attack when one of her diktyon nets appeared around him, trapping him in it's unbreakable bonds. 


	52. Chapter 52

Ash struggled within the mesh of the net as Artemis stooped down and poked at him with one of her claws. "Still think you can escape?" she taunted. His response was little more than a growl and she laughed harder. She'd dreamed of this day for hundreds of years and now she couldn't possibly relish the feel of victory more. "Oh darling, you should know by now I always get my way."

Suddenly Artemis was slammed to the ground by a crushing wave of power that made Ash's hair stand on end in the net. "Gods but you're a cocky bitch aren't you?" Ash was shocked to see his wife standing behind the goddess near the edge of the trees watching Artemis struggle to get back up with a look of amusement on her face. 

"Get out of here Phae," he snarled, still struggling in the net. 

"Sure thing honey," she said as she snapped her fingers and the net vanished. "You sure I can't just stay and watch?"

He said nothing as he pulled himself up off the ground and spun to face the source of his anger. Artemis meanwhile had been desperately trying to build her power level back up to the point where she could attack him again but Phaedryn's blow had knocked it all out of her. The look of fear that was creeping into her eyes made Ash hesitate for just a moment, which gave Artemis the chance she needed to summon her stable of creatures to the field to assist her. First the centaurs attacked, launching a hail of arrows at Ash as they galloped across the plain towards the trio. Ash blocked them easily with an invisible wall and he shoved Phaedryn behind a tree to screen her from the harpies that were starting to dive-bomb them. 

Phaedryn peeked out around the trunk of the tree and noticed the roc and the large dragon, Tiamat she thought, launching themselves into the sky in the direction of herself and Ash. The roc was carrying a huge boulder that it probably intended on dropping on them. But before she could do anything to counter their attack she was knocked to the ground by a blast of power that seemed to be directed at Ash but had caught her too. Ash twisted his body in mid air and tried to keep the brunt of the blast from her but she still fell to the dirt and had the breath knocked out of her. The look of horror on his face as he saw her laying there clutching her hands to her stomach protectively quickly changed to a look of fury as he turned back to Artemis and flung every bit of energy he had at her. 

Light and fury exploded out of his body as he threw his power at her at the same time that Artemis hurled all of her power at him. The waves of energy met between where they stood and exploded in a ball of force that rivaled a nuclear bomb. The violence of the blast threw everyone back and flattened all of the trees that had been left standing, leveling the forest all the way to the horizon. The roc and the dragon crashed to the ground and lay dazed for a moment before renewing their attack. 

Ash rose shakily to his feet and looked around at the destruction that had flattened the field. He was trying to absorb the damage as he glanced around looking to see if Phaedryn was all right. He found her quite a ways away sitting up carefully and blinking in shock. He could feel that she was dazed, but unharmed so he turned his attention back to Artemis. He was halfway to where she lay when Zeus appeared in his path. "Don't even think about it old man. This is our fight and it will be played out."

Zeus said nothing as he surveyed the damage around him. As he took in the various ranks of creatures that were not just Greek, closing in around the combatants, he knew what Artemis had done and he hung his head sadly. He turned back to Acheron and laid a hand on the Atlantean's bruised shoulder, "End it quickly," he said simply before vanishing again. 

Ash stared at where the god had just been in disbelief. If he understood the words Zeus had uttered, he'd just been given permission to kill Artemis. The delight of that revelation filled him with a renewed sense of purpose and he continued his trek to where she still lay unmoving. Before he got much farther, a hand came down on his shoulder and he spun to find Phaedryn looking up at him sadly. 

"Do you really want to do this?" 

Ash wanted desperately to say yes but he knew deep in his heart that he truly couldn't kill the goddess even though she'd caused him so much pain over the centuries. "I would love to make her suffer but… I can't. She…"

Phaedryn put a loving hand on his arm and nodded, "Then don't. Let it go."

He looked almost sad as she took his hand and they turned to walk away at the same moment the combined force of the monsters attacked. Ash whirled around in a circle looking for a way to get Phaedryn to safety but they were surrounded. He did, however, see Artemis standing behind the phalanx of beasts that were moving closer to them. She was grinning wickedly, knowing that she had won and now she intended on finishing the battle once and for all. 

CH 53

Phaedryn's fear at the approach of the group of monsters was beginning to grow as she felt's Ash's hesitation start to bleed through his calm exterior. All she could see was teeth and the intent to kill surrounding her and suddenly she was deeply afraid of what would happen to her baby. "So, you got a brilliant plan here babe or are we done?"

"Working on it," he called over his shoulder. He was watching Artemis carefully because she seemed to be a completely different person, and that scared him a little. The murderous intent in her eyes was not at all what he was used to seeing, and it occurred to him that he was probably going to have to kill the goddess he'd once loved. 

Artemis cackled maniacally as she raised her hands to blast him once more with the combined energies she'd amassed over the years. Before she could release the power, a dragon swooped down out of the sky and slammed her to the ground and held her there with it's massive claw. The downdraft from the dragon's immense wingspan buffeted some of the smaller monsters around which confused them and gave Ash the chance he needed to break through their ranks on his way towards where the dragon had Artemis pinned. Ash nodded up at the dragon, whom he'd recognized as Illarion, and wondered how he'd known to come here. He pushed that thought out of his mind as he stalked towards the goddess and swept her up off the ground in a whirl of angry energy. He pitched her across the field away from the group of creatures she could control and he re-pinned her to the ground with an ancient Atlantean spell that she couldn't break. 

When he reached where she lay she was violently struggling and cursing him in several different languages. "I wouldn't waste your breath if I were you," he said as he looked down at her. 

"I will kill you for this Acheron! You and your bitch."

"Hey now, that's no way for a lady to talk." He looked back over his shoulder at the mention of Phaedryn and saw her standing behind Illarion's massive flank watching the dragon dispatch the various monsters that were still within reach. Several of them had held back and were now circling behind the dragon to attack him. Ash was about to go help his wife when the three Charonte demons appeared in mid air and joined the fight gleefully. The sight of Simi in her demon form being able to let loose on other creatures made him chuckle because he could feel the waves of delight from her. She hadn't been this happy in many years. 

As he turned back to Artemis he let his face return to a blank mask and he studied her wriggling form. "Let me out of this Acheron. Face me like a man!"

"Oh, now that's just funny! You're one to talk there, missy, you who can't fight your own battles. No, you need a bunch of mindless beasts to fight for you." He knelt down next to her and was thankful that she couldn't kill him simply by the look in her eyes. "So what am I going to do with you?"

Artemis' face suddenly became passive and the look in her eyes went from one of murder to one of sorrow. Ash had never seen her look upset about anything like this before. She'd never remotely come close to looking pathetic and it amused him slightly to see her vulnerable. "Don't hurt me Acheron. Let's talk this in."

"Out," he corrected automatically. "Talk this out. And there's nothing to talk about Artie. This is beyond excusing. Not only have you killed my Hunters, but now you've tried to kill me _and_ my pregnant wife. I have nothing to say to you. Ever. Again."

"Can't you see that I've done this for you? I've only ever done anything for you Acheron."

"What? What the hell are you talking about? What have you done for me other than make me miserable?"

Now Artemis was crying, tears streaming down her cheeks, "I've only ever done anything for you Acheron. Don't you see? If…if there were no hunters you'd have nothing to distract you from me. We could be together all the time. Just us. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

He looked down at her with pity and confusion on his face. She'd obviously gone over the edge mentally and now she was completely delusional, more so than she'd been previously. "Right, okay then. Why don't you just take a little nap Artie and we'll talk about this when you wake up okay?" He didn't wait for her to answer as he put her to sleep by brushing a hand over her face. Then he rose and turned back towards the battle behind him that was rapidly coming to an end. 

Illarion was currently sitting on top of the Roc and slamming his tail on it's head as the Charonte devoured the flock of harpies. The other dragon, Tiamat, had vanished and the rest of the monsters lay wounded or dead across the field. Phaedryn was standing to one side yelling something at Xiovar who was gnawing on what looked like a centaur flank. Ash walked towards her trying to make out what she was shouting but he couldn't hear it over the pounding of Illarion's tail. 

He watched the dragon as he closed the distance between Artemis and his wife and he was surprised to see a small figure on the dragon's back. He looked closer at it and finally realized he was looking at his daughter astride the massive creature's back. Well, that explained how Illarion got here. He chuckled as he put the string of events together in his mind and walked up behind his wife. 

"You're going to get sick again!" she was shouting at her Charonte as he gleefully devoured random chunks of meat around him. "Children, they never learn," she huffed as he came to a halt beside her. 

"Speaking of children, did you see that?" he asked pointing at Illarion's back. 

"Yes, and she is so totally grounded for that little stunt."

Ash chuckled at the idea of 'grounding' a goddess as he put an arm around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder, "Good luck with that. You okay?"

"Yeah, got a backache but I'll live. Those silly demons are going to be in bad shape after all of that gorging though. I am _not_ cleaning up after that mess. No way!"

"I think I'll pass on that too." He turned her to face him and looked down at her with complete love in his eyes, "So…what do you suggest we do with the other goddess causing us problems?" 

"Oh, I think you know what I'd like to do to her. But it's not my choice."

Ash sighed loudly, "No, it's my choice I suppose. I can't just kill her." He thought for a moment as he held her close to his body. "I guess I'll hand her over to Zeus. Let him deal with her. I really don't want to have anything to do with her any more."

Phaedryn nodded and looked around his arm to where Artemis was. "We've got more important things to worry about."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Oh, like the fact that I think I'm in labor for one."

Ash's eyes went wide and he stepped back and held her at arms length. "You're what?"

She winced in pain and clutched at his arm, "You heard me. Junior's getting impatient here, so let's wrap this up quickly shall we?"

He couldn't help but grin at her before he turned back towards Artemis to send her off to Zeus to deal with. Before he could send the trussed up goddess to the top of Olympus, Akrinea appeared beside her. She'd obviously been paying attention to everything that had been going on and Ash made a mental note to talk to his daughter about just how much of what had happened she knew about after things settled down at home. Not wanting to delay their departure any more he flashed himself to his daughter's side and knelt down beside her. 

Nea was on her knees beside Artemis and her little face was colored with curiosity as she studied the goddess's prone form. "She doesn't seem like that much trouble does she?" Ash's heart skipped a beat as the deep voice rumbled out of his daughter's tiny body. It wasn't Nea's voice that he heard and that startled him. Nea turned to look up at her father and her eyes were completely black instead of their usual crystal blue color. "What will you do with her now Apostolos?"

Ash searched his memory to figure out where he'd heard that voice before. He knew it, deep in his soul but he wasn't sure where from or who it belonged to. "Who are you?"

A deep rumbling laugh rolled out of Nea's little chest, "I guess you don't remember me that well do you? It's been so long after all. I am Misos, graciously hosted by your daughter." 

"Are you hurting her?" Phaedryn asked as she joined her husband and took in the sight of her daughter being possessed by someone else. 

"No, it's merely my consciousness here. She is under no stress. Nea let me in willingly."

"Why would she do that?" Ash asked, the concern for his child thick in his voice. 

"She needed someone that could help her." The little girl's body blinked in curiosity around the black eyes of the Atlantean god of death. "Akrinea will have to explain it to you herself later. Suffice to know that she asked for my help and I gave it to her willingly. She did this to stop you from fulfilling that dire prophecy of yours Apostolos." A halo of light appeared around the little goddess and she was suddenly back to her normal self. She glanced around at the field and the remains of the battle and shrugged her shoulders, "Well, that went well."

"Oh, you have _a lot_ of explaining to do young lady," Phaedryn said in her 'threatening mother' voice. 

"Yes mommy. We should go home now. My brother will be here soon."

Ash looked curiously between his daughter and his wife and asked, "Brother huh? How do you know that?"

"He told me," she said matter-of-factly as she held out her hands towards her parents. "Oh, wait a minute," she blurted as she dropped her hands again and knelt back down by Artemis. She put a tiny hand on the goddess's chest and made a fist like she was pulling her dress up off of her chest. Instead of cloth though she held a small orb of light, which she studied for a second before rising from the ground. "She doesn't need that any more," she said as she put her hand and the ball of light on her mother's distended stomach. The light sank into Phaedryn's skin and she gasped as the god power that Nea had taken from Artemis infused her unborn child. "Much better," Nea said as she brushed dirt off her knees and reached again for her father's hand.

Phaedryn & Ash stood in shock at what their daughter had just done for a moment. They gaped at each other trying to figure out what exactly had happened before Phaedryn broke the confusion with a whimper as another contraction ripped through her gut. "Oh, time to go," she said through clenched teeth.

Ash called out to the Charonte who were still gorging themselves on the remains of the creatures they'd killed. "Time to go kids!" He waited for a moment to make sure they heeded him and they vanished from the field in an eye blink. 

Phaedryn was doubled over as the contraction tore through her gut. When it passed, she straightened up and found a grinning Illarion in human form standing beside her helping her to rise. "That was more fun than a Monty Python marathon," his voice said in her head. 

"Glad you enjoyed yourself," Phaedryn said with a grin. "So who invited you to the party?"

"Misos," Illarion replied so that everyone could hear him. "I owed him a favor from a very long time ago and this was his request for payment. He is basically powerless in his confinement so I acted as his steward in this matter." He cocked his head to one side and smiled, "And he says to reassure you that the little goddess is quite safe."

A loud popping noise sounded behind them and they turned to find Artemis no longer there. A bolt of lightning slammed into the ground where she used to be and they knew that Zeus had taken her, to do with whatever he thought best. "Well, I guess that's that then," Ash said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Let's get you home so we can do this baby thing." He looked lovingly at his wife, "Together this time. And no dying on me okay?"

"Deal." She took his hand and glanced at Illarion, "Thank you for your help."

"My pleasure. After the little one is settled, come over for a visit. I have a new game and I need a worthy opponent." He rasped out an audible chuckle and winked at her before vanishing from their sight. 

Ash stooped down and picked up Nea from the ground where she stood patiently waiting. "You really do have a lot of explaining to do little one."

"I know daddy. All in good time." Her voice was so earnest that it made her parents laugh, which made her giggle too. She was very glad that everything had worked out and she knew that even though she was probably in a lot of trouble, she had done the right thing. Her father was safe from Artemis's self centered machinations, no one in her family had died, her brother would be here soon and now he had a great deal of power that she'd taken from Artemis and given to him. "Mommy? Can I help you pick out a name for my brother?"

"How about if you make some suggestions and we'll talk about it?" Ash suggested gently. He wanted her to be a part of the process but he also didn't want his son ending up named Wibble or something like that.

"Okay, what about Darichon?"

"Huh, I kinda like that," Phaedryn said thoughtfully. "Well, let's think on it. He doesn't need a name just yet. He does however, want out, so let's get home shall we?" she said as another contraction ripped through her midsection. 

Ash smiled at his daughter and then his wife happily, "What do you know? I think I finally got the happy ending," he said as he flashed his family home.


	53. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Savitar smiled faintly as he sat on his surfboard letting the waves buck and roll under him. He was at peace here in the water, nothing to remind him of the evils of the world that constantly nagged at his peripheral vision. A splash of water on his face snapped him back to the moment and he laughed as the small figure on the other surfboard paddled away from him towards the shore. Leaning forward on his own board he paddled after the other person and shouted, "I'm gonna get you for that!"

The sound of laughter and the shout behind her made Nea giggle as she swung her hands faster into the water, trying to reach the shore before her uncle caught up to her. "You're not that good old man!" she shouted back over her shoulder as she cast a brief glance back to see if he was gaining on her. 

They were both still laughing as they reached the shore, energized by the merry chase and at peace with the world in general. Savitar enjoyed spending time surfing with his niece and she appreciated the attention she was getting now that the baby took up most of her mother's time. It amused her greatly that her uncle had turned out to be a willing guardian for her once she'd agreed to let him teach her to surf. And the calm that the waves brought to both of them was a nice change from the hectic lives they led. She rested her small surfboard on a log that was conveniently nearby and waited for him to walk the rest of the way up the beach. 

"You'd better get a move on old man. Aunt Amanda will be pissed if we're late again."

"Oh you'd better not let your mother hear you talking like that little girl. She'll tan your hide." He smiled as he looked down at her twinkling eyes and wondered when it had come about that he was totally wrapped around this little girl's finger. "And I'm not old."

"Ha! You're older than Daddy is and he's flipping ancient."

"Very true, but I'm much hotter than your father is, so I win." The ease at which the two had become friends astounded them both but Savitar knew that it was necessary in the long run because someone would need to groom Nea for the role she would one day play in the upkeep of the human population and Savitar wasn't sure that his sister and his friend would be willing to take the steps that were necessary to do it. It would be a long hard road for the little goddess and there would be many tough lessons for her to learn and Savitar didn't think that her parents would be willing to hurt her to teach those lessons. He on the other hand had no problem with it because in the end it was what had to happen. Plus, he'd long ago established that he was the bad guy so it certainly wouldn't be anything new for him to be cruel. 

Nea rolled her eyes at her uncle and toweled the water out of her hair. "Whatever. So…ready to go?"

"Sure," he said with a grin as he flashed himself dry and into jeans and a t-shirt. "Lead the way kiddo."

They appeared in the huge back yard of the Hunter's house and were immediately assaulted by squealing children and smoke wafting across the yard. Nea giggle and ran off towards the voices of the other children as Savitar blinked at the confusion in the area and headed for the source of the smoke. He found Kyrian and Nick chatting happily, beers in hand as they tended the grill. "Smells good. Don't burn it okay?" he said with a grin as he came up beside them. 

"That's why I'm standing here," Nick said. "We'd always be eating charcoal if no one kept him in line," he waved his beer in Kyrian's direction and smiled at his friend. 

Savitar slapped Kyrian on the shoulder as he continued past the two men further into the yard. He waved at Amanda who was deep in conversation with her twin sister and the sisters both smiled and waved as he walked past on his way to where his own sister was sitting in a chair with his nephew cradled in her arms. He pulled a chair over next to her and sat down holding out his hands for the baby. 

"You're late," she said as she passed the little boy over to her brother and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. 

"She wanted one last run," he replied innocently. 

"Sure she did. You know this means you're going to be punished. Diaper duty for you big brother."

Savitar curled his lip up in horror of the suggestion but snuggled the baby to his chest anyway. "At least you didn't say I was on Charonte detail."

"Ha! You're the cruel one, not me. Nope, wouldn't wish that torture on any of my family, that's for sure. I can't wait until he's out of this phase." She rolled her eyes at the thought of the baby Charonte who had managed to cause so much chaos in the palace since his hatching. The little demon had a strong urge to chew up anything he could get close to his mouth including furniture and stray body parts that weren't protected carefully. Xiovar had come to her several times recently with gnaw wounds on his arms and wings from letting his defenses down while tending his son.

Savitar nodded sagely and let his gaze wander around the yard taking in the inflatable moon bounce on one end of the expanse of grass where Nea, Marissa and several other children were happily bouncing around. There were streamers and balloons everywhere and lots of adults milling about happily chatting as if they were all completely normal individuals. Anyone would get that impression by the scene in the yard but the people in the clusters weren't normal by any stretch of the imagination. There were gods and goddess mingling with Were-Hunters, former Dark-Hunters and demons as well as the small contingent of Squires off to one side. The whole picture amused him immensely and he was happy that he'd come. 

"So, any word about Red?"

Phaedryn nodded and grinned, "Yup. Ash talked to Zeus a few days ago. Seems that she's completely snapped, serious buckets of crazy. So he's put her in a nice padded room and I don't think we're going to have any more problems with her. Not that she has the juice to pull anything anymore." When Nea had taken almost all of Artemis' power and put it into her brother it hadn't surprised Phaedryn any but Ash had been rather astounded at that little gift. 

"It's kind of sad you know? I mean who are you going to have for an arch rival now?"

Phaedryn glared at her brother for a moment and then realized that he was joking, "Well I guess you're going to have to be my rival now huh? Or, I could go see if Hera wants to throw down."

"Oh no! Not me. I'm a good guy remember?"

"Well that all depends on who you ask," said the deep rumbling voice of Acheron from behind where they sat. He clapped Savitar on the shoulder and kissed his wife before seating himself between them. "Glad you decided to show up brother."

"Hey, it's not everyday one is invited to a combination birthday, naming day, anniversary, engagement, it's not the end of the world celebration."

"You have a point there," Ash chuckled. The party had been Tabitha's idea, in honor of Marissa's birthday, her own anniversary, Brychon's birth and naming and the now standard enjoyment of narrowly averting Armageddon. So she'd talked her sister into hosting the shindig and everyone eagerly agreed to come celebrate. It wasn't often that they had time to relax and enjoy living instead of constantly having to do battle against things that wanted to kill them, so the party was a refreshing change of pace. 

"Well if you two will excuse me, there's a dragon and an X-Box that need my attention," Phae said as she rose from her chair. 

"So what ever happened with Misos?" Savitar asked. "He still planning on destroying the world? Or is that next week's agenda?"

Ash looked at his wife and burst out laughing. "You're never going to guess what happened with that. Turns out that because Zeus found out what a bad girl Artemis had been and how Misos has stepped in to help out with that, Zeus released him from his cave." Savitar raised an eyebrow and motioned for the other man to continue. "Well since he's powerless nowdays he seems to have decided that Kalosis is a good place to stay."

Phaedryn picked up the thread of the story, "Turns out that Misos was a lot better of a friend to Apollymi than we were led to believe. So they seem to be quite happy down there." She shrugged and waved her hand as if dismissing the whole thing. "Whatever keeps them out of our hair is fine by me. Anyway, Bry's been fed so I'm outta here. Call me when it's feeding time at the zoo okay?" She kissed Ash again before walking off towards the house where Illarion was waiting to challenge her to his latest video game. She paused in her travels to grab Nick's hand and drag him away from Kyrian and Lisa who was happily flaunting the large diamond ring on her finger to anyone around. 

"It's nice that this is all working out. 'Bout time we had a chance to catch our breath." Savitar said as he looked down at the small bundle of his nephew. 

"How long do you think it'll last?"

Savitar shrugged as best he could without waking the sleeping infant, "Oh you know how it goes, just when you think it's all sunshine and roses someone comes along and shits on your shoe. Who knows? Let's just enjoy the quiet while we can, right?"

Ash smiled as he leaned back in his chair, "Sounds like a plan."

The End (maybe) 


End file.
